In August 2025, KrebsOnSecurity reported on the rapid rise of numerous polished online scam gambling sites that lure victims with free credits and then steal any cryptocurrency deposited. These scams are driven by a Russian affiliate program called "Gambler Panel," which describes itself as a "soulless project made for profit." The program offers affiliates up to 70% of the profits and provides a detailed wiki explaining how to operate these scams, including how to attract and retain victims. The scam starts with deceptive social media ads claiming partnerships with popular athletes or influencers, offering a $2,500 credit with a promo code. Victims create free accounts to use the credit, playing realistic video games, but when attempting to cash out winnings, they are required to make a cryptocurrency “verification deposit,” usually around $100. Players are then pressured into further wagers and deposits, ultimately losing all their money. Gambler Panel’s wiki boasts of a unique, fully fake casino engine designed to convince even experienced gamblers of legitimacy. Affiliates are instructed to drive traffic by any means, including via Instagram and TikTok, and are provided live chat guidelines to delay or refuse withdrawals professionally. The program restricts scamming in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries but accepts all other traffic globally. The affiliate program reportedly has over 20,000 affiliates, who must be approved through a Telegram channel with around 2,500 active users. The channel showcases lucrative affiliate earnings and lifestyle boasts. A 17-year-old developer known as "Thereallo" analyzed the Gambler Panel, describing it as a highly scalable, franchise-like criminal enterprise with a sophisticated shared platform supporting thousands of disposable scam sites. Security firm Silent Push compiled a list of domains associated with Gambler Panel. Comments on the article reflect skepticism about the affiliates being scammed themselves and note that such scams have existed in various forms for decades. One commenter shares an experience with a different online betting site, BetUS, describing difficulty withdrawing funds despite the site appearing legitimate. Overall, the Gambler Panel affiliate program represents a well-organized, highly profitable scam operation exploiting social media to defraud cryptocurrency gamblers worldwide. Victims are advised to avoid depositing money into unfamiliar online gambling sites and to only trust financial transactions with institutions they know personally.