Casino Industry In Costa Rica Rocked By Murder

An online casino executive has been kidnapped and murdered in Costa Rica

5Dimes Owner

A body has been found in Costa Rica which has been reported as being that of 5Dimes owner William Sean Creighton.

Online sports betting entrepreneur Creighton was last seen at his Costa Rica office on September 24, and it was believed that he had been kidnapped.

Creighton, 43, who was normally known as ‘Tony’, was driving recently when an armed gang of four men, travelling on a motorbike and in a BMW car, reportedly ran his Porsche off the road.

Local police stated that they were investigating the case, but have kept tight-lipped when it comes to providing local press with further details.

Ransom Demands

They confirmed that Creighton’s wife reported the crime to them on September 25. They have also stated that no ransom has been paid.

This is significant, as other local media reports have stated that a $750,000 ransom has been paid in Bitcoin, and that nothing was heard from the kidnappers after the ransom was paid.

The Creighton family reportedly hired private investigators to try and locate the kidnapped man. To what extent these private investigators were working with local police is unclear.

Local media identified the investigators as two former FBI agents who were living locally. They subsequently reported that they experienced issues with local law enforcement due to being in possession of illegal firearms.

Costa Rican Gambling Industry

The 5Dimes online casino has been a mainstay of the Costa Rican gambling industry for almost two decades, with Tony Creighton having been in charge for 18 years.

The company appears to be in robust health, but it remains to be seen what impact the death of Creighton may have on its overall performance.

Kidnapping in Costa Rica has been identified in recent times as becoming something of a threat to expatriates who work in the gambling industry in the country, especially if they are Chinese or American. Companies based there need to take this into account when making security arrangements for their employees.

Costa Rican media reports have speculated that the murder could well be an ‘inside job’, carried out by individuals with intimate links to the 5Dimes organisation.

Further investigations by law enforcement agencies are required to assess the truth of that claim.

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