WinPalace Casino Shuts Down Abruptly After Arrests

In an interesting and unexpected development, owners of WinPalace Casino were arrested on a number of charges, and this has led to the close of the online casino.

In the online casino world, there are a ton of different business moves that happen that can close down individual casino sites or have their players moved to another location. However, the recent events that led to the closing of the US-facing WinPalace Casino, and its umbrella of related brands, were completely unexpected because those events were the arrest of two of their owners and at least one other linked party.

Nature of the Charges

Gery Shalon and Ziv Orenstein were reportedly arrested in the past week in Israel, where they both live. The charges against them vary, but they center around penny stock scams and "pump and dump" style rackets that went back as far as 2011. Joshua Samuel Aaron, an American living in Tel Aviv, was also charged. The three together were charged with identity theft, securities and wire fraud, and money laundering. Shalon and Orenstein have also been linked by the FBI to JPMorgan Chase being hacked in 2014.

The other USA online casinos that have also closed down due to these developments include Casino Titan, Golden Cherry, Grand Parker, OnBling Casino, Loco Panda, Classy Coin, Grand Macao, Ruby Royal, Winpalace Play, Slots of Fortune, Begado and Jackpot Grand Casino. These are all connected through the same management group and affiliate programs, and those affiliate programs have been shut down in the face of these developments.

What Should USA Casino Players Do?

Most of the US online casinos that have been affected by this ran the Realtime Gaming software. If you're looking for an online casino that has the same titles and experience available, but you're looking for a site with more stability, then you have a few options. All three of these are sites that we recommend here at GrizzlyGambling.

Bodog Casino, is licensed in Antigua, and they're an extremely well-known and well-trusted brand for American players. They have a library of games from Realtime Gaming in addition to tons of games from other providers. They also give new players a 100 percent match bonus worth up to $600 automatically.

We can also recommend Raging Bull Casino. Using our no deposit bonus code, US players (and Canadians) can get a free $50 chip for trying out their software. This site is licensed in Malta, and while they are a newer brand that only opened earlier this year, they have great promotions like a 300 percent sign-up bonus worth as much as $7,000.

Our third suggestion is High Noon Casino. A western-themed American brand that offers new players a 200 percent bonus up to $2,000 on your initial deposit for playing slots.