WARDENO

Independent civic initiative · OSINT and risk scoring

Illegal casinos and Ponzi schemes. We detect, document and report them.

The Wardeno System finds websites that break Polish law, currently illegal online casinos and Ponzi schemes targeting people in Poland. Law-based heuristics and a machine learning model produce a risk score, a person verifies every hit, and each confirmed case goes to the Ministry of Finance, KNF, UOKiK or CERT Polska with a signed evidence package.

Report a suspicious siteHow the Wardeno System works

From an institution or newsroom? See what you get from us →

We are not a government body, law enforcement or a regulator. We don't block sites or issue decisions. We collect evidence and hand it to those who have the powers to act.

Mission

Fewer places where people in Poland lose money.

Illegal casinos and “guaranteed return” schemes change domains faster than anyone can report them. They advertise in search results, on social media and in messaging apps, often in Polish and with Polish payment methods.

That is why we built the Wardeno System. It flags candidates based on signals rather than chance reports, documents them in a repeatable way (screenshots, page archive, WHOIS) and assembles a signed evidence package an institution can act on straight away.

Independence

We take no money from the gambling or finance industries, advertise no one and have no ties to any operator.

A person decides

The Wardeno System flags candidates and scores their risk, and a person decides on every report based on the evidence collected.

Verifiability

Every evidence package is signed with our PGP key. The fingerprint is on this page and in security.txt, so an institution can verify the sender and the integrity of the material.

Privacy

We collect no personal data. This site uses no cookies, analytics or third-party scripts.

How it works

From signal to signed report.

  1. Discovery (OSINT)

    The Wardeno System scans search results, ads, newly registered domains and promotional content for offers aimed at Poland. AI models assess which sources are worth searching.

  2. Signal analysis and risk scoring

    Heuristics based on the law and institutional practice check signals such as a Polish-language version, BLIK and instant transfers, absence from lists of licensed operators, or promises of fixed returns. A machine learning model trained on human-verified cases combines them into a risk score.

  3. Human review and evidence capture

    Nothing reaches an institution without a human decision. A reviewer opens the site from a Polish IP address, as a user in Poland sees it, and secures the evidence: dated screenshots, a page archive and the domain registration data (WHOIS). The finished package is signed with our PGP key.

  4. Report to the competent institution

    A confirmed case goes to the competent institution with the full evidence set, the provision it most likely breaks, and a PGP signature that lets the recipient verify the sender and the integrity of the package.

  5. Register and mirror monitoring

    We check whether the site was added to the MF domain register or the KNF warning list, and catch its copies (mirrors) at new addresses.

How the risk score is built

The risk score comes from three complementary layers, each with a different role and weight in the decision.

Law-based heuristics

Deterministic rules derived from the law and institutional practice: no MF licence, Polish payment methods, promises of guaranteed returns. Easy to justify in a report.

Risk model (machine learning)

A model trained on our own human-verified cases combines the signals into a risk score. Every reviewer decision goes back into the training set.

AI models for context

Where rules are not enough, for example when qualifying the sources hits come from, selected assessments are supported by AI models.

No layer reports anything on its own. A person makes the decision on every report.

Categories

What we detect today.

Active

Illegal online casinos and betting

Online casinos and bookmakers without a licence from the Polish Minister of Finance that accept players from Poland. The only legal online casino in Poland is run by Totalizator Sportowy, and only licensed operators may offer betting.

Key signals
no MF licencePolish-language versionBLIK and instant transferswelcome bonuses
Legal basis
Polish Gambling Act of 19 November 2009, including Art. 15f on the domain register
Reported to
Ministry of Finance (register of domains offering gambling in breach of the Act), CERT Polska
Active

Ponzi schemes and HYIPs

Platforms promising high, fixed returns where payouts come from new participants’ deposits. Often with referral programmes and pressure to “get in now”.

Key signals
guaranteed fixed returnsreferral programmetime pressureentity absent from the KNF list
Legal basis
Art. 7(14) of the Act on Counteracting Unfair Market Practices, Art. 286 of the Polish Criminal Code
Reported to
KNF (public warnings list), UOKiK, CERT Polska

Planned categories

Planned
  • Fake investment platforms (crypto, forex)
  • Fake online shops
  • Impersonation of banks and institutions
  • Illegal loans
For institutions and press

What you get from us.

Evidence package for institutions

  • Dated screenshots taken from a Polish IP address
  • Page archive
  • Domain registration data (WHOIS)
  • The provision the site most likely breaks
  • PGP signature confirming sender and integrity

Verify the signature with gpg --verify after importing /pgp.asc.

Press and researchers

  • Questions about method, scope and categories
  • Contact via [email protected], PGP-encrypted if you like

We communicate in writing only.

Report a site

See a suspicious site? Report it to us.

Write to [email protected]. Reports from people go into the same verification queue as hits from the Wardeno System.

Write a report[email protected]
  • The site address the full link, even if the site is already down
  • How you came across it ad, SMS, search engine, messaging app, a friend’s tip
  • Screenshots the offer, terms, payment page, date and time
  • Don’t send personal data no passwords, card numbers or ID scans. We don’t need them.

You can encrypt sensitive information with our PGP key.

Contact

Get in touch.

Email

[email protected]
Individuals
site reports
Institutions
PGP-signed evidence packages
Press and researchers
questions about method and scope

We correspond only from this address. We charge no fees for receiving or handling reports.

PGP key and sender verification

6B5C85CD0F78C19FACB9C141190276B197F80F43
UID
Wardeno <[email protected]>
Type
ed25519 / cv25519
Valid until
2029-10-24 (subkeys 2028-10-24)
File
/pgp.asc

The same fingerprint is in security.txt. Compare it before sending an encrypted message. We also sign our report packages for institutions with this key.