Fake Dragon Z6 Executive Exposed in Croatia Soccer Sponsorship Deal

• Croatia sponsorship exposed after fake executive identified as academic
  
• Dragon Z6 tied to opaque offshore gambling and rebranding networks
  
• Football deals used to target illegal betting markets in Asia

When Croatia’s national soccer team signed a deal with Asian-facing bookmaker Dragon Z6 ahead of this summer’s World Cup, the operator sent along a representative, “Alexander Smith,” to sign the contract and pose for photos with players.

But Smith was not a gaming executive, open-source investigative outlet Bellingcat has discovered. In fact, he wasn’t even Alexander Smith. He was a computer science lecturer and reality TV contestant from Zagreb named Branko Balon.

Bellingcat investigators used the facial recognition search engine PimEyes to identify Balon, who once appeared on the Croatian cookery show Who Cooks Better for Me? and is president of the Croatian-Chinese Friendship Society.

When contacted by email, Balon initially asked what the inquiry was about, but then stopped responding.

Stand-Ins Not Uncommon

Investigators have become vigilant around these types of contract-signing ceremonies involving unlicensed Asian-facing betting companies because the tactic of employing a fake executive is not uncommon. The publicity around such events provides a veneer of legitimacy for the site while preserving its opaque ownership structure.

For instance, in 2019, Leicester City FC officials posed in front of the camera with purported Yabo Sports CEO Dean Hawkes to celebrate a new sponsorship deal, but it turned out Hawkes wasn’t a CEO at all, but a male model working in Shanghai.

To be clear, sites like Yabo and Dragon Z6 aren’t interested in attracting customers in countries like Croatia or the UK, where the teams they sponsor are based. They want to use soccer as a gateway to hard-to-reach markets like China, where marketing gambling is illegal.

Van Persie Denial

Bellingcat’s investigation suggests that Dragon Z6 is not a typical, transparent betting company but part of a shifting network of offshore gambling brands that frequently rebrand and obscure their ownership.

The outlet found that the company’s public image — claiming a long history and major presence in Asia — is difficult to verify, while its marketing strategy appears focused on using high-profile football sponsorships to reach audiences in regions where online gambling is restricted.

The company also appears linked to the Hong Kong-associated platform KashBet (also known as KB88).

Bellingcat found that both sites used the same promotional image of former Arsenal and Manchester United striker Robin van Persie, with each altering the logo to match their own branding. Van Persie’s agent said no agreement existed with either company and that legal action would be taken.