5Dimes out of the US market

The Sportsbook platform 5Dimes, located in Costa Rica, is ceasing operations at 12 a.m. on September 21st.

An Email sent to customers claims the following “With the evolving legal landscape in the United States, we want to take advantage of the opportunity to offer an improved online sports betting experience. In order to do this, we need to suspend temporarily our service of the US market so that we can launch our new operations with a fresh start”

This statement came moments ago on Labour Day in the US. It all seems to be strictly related to looking for an improvement on their platforms in order to provide a better user experience.

But, as we all came to know, 5Dimes owner, Sean 'Tony' Creighton, was killed in a kidnapping for ransom that went wrong in 2018. The U.S. State Department later confirmed the discovery of his body in September 2019. His remains were discovered in a graveyard in a small fishing village in Costa Rica, approximately 100 miles from where he reportedly was kidnapped.

In spite of the situation, the widow of Sean Creighton, Laura Varela, said: "...Sean worked incredibly hard to provide the best online sports betting experience to the 5Dimes community,”.

Many of you are asking about the brand’s future,” she continued. “I am limited in what I can disclose right now. But there are definitely some positive surprises in store for you. I am working with experts and consultants to make sure that the brand that you have come to love is well represented in the regulated US market.”

After what happened to Creighton, it is not clear who's running the company.

The customers are furious. Creighton had been deemed a "bad actor" by the U.S. government for operating an illegal offshore sportsbook. He was accused of laundering $2 million in 2016 by federal prosecutors for accepting deposits and withdrawals through Amazon gift cards. U.S. financial institutions are prohibited from facilitating transactions related to illegal betting companies.

5Dimes says it will stop accepting bets from U.S. customers on Sept. 21. Checking accounts have until Sept. 25 to withdraw their funds, otherwise the money will be transferred to a claims administrator.