The BAG Token Investigation: Miles Anthony, Michael Ryan de Taboada, and Scott de Taboada's $20M Metaverse Casino Project Under Scrutiny
Exclusive: How a Metaverse Casino Project Led by Miles Anthony, Michael Ryan de Taboada, and Scott de Taboada Raised Millions from Investors Amid Growing Concerns Over Financial Practices and Regulatory Compliance
In 2020, Miles Anthony, Michael Ryan Detaboada, and Scott Detaboada launched Decentral Games, an online metaverse casino that raised over $20 million from investors. The project's DG tokens were marketed as representing ownership stakes in the casino, but legal experts have raised concerns about their classification as securities.
Internal marketing documents reveal the use of phrases such as "BE THE HOUSE" and "Play and OWN the first ever metaverse casino". Promotional materials obtained by our investigation included statements such as:
- "By owning $DG, the first ever metaverse casino is now yours."
- "With $DG, you are the house: You control the profits, vote on new games, and earn money back directly by playing."
The initial proposition from Miles Anthony and Michael Ryan Detaboada was highly compelling—an innovative approach that allowed people to own a portion of a casino and influence its future simply by purchasing tokens. The idea was so attractive that they successfully raised over $20 million from investors.
However, while everything appeared promising on the surface, deeper issues began to emerge behind the scenes.
Miles Anthony and Michael Ryan Detaboada employed aggressive marketing strategies to raise funds from investors. One of the key selling points was the promise of ownership in the casino, which, as later developments revealed, was misleading.
Another major tactic was creating urgency around an imminent Binance listing. Investors were encouraged to buy DG tokens as soon as possible, under the claim that the token would soon be listed on Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges. A Binance listing is often compared to an IPO in traditional markets, as it can bring significant liquidity and, in some cases, drive a token's price up by over 600%.
Miles consistently pushed this narrative, emphasizing the urgency of buying early. He even shared what was presented as a signed agreement with Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the CEO of Binance at the time.
However, later discussions raised concerns about whether sharing this document complied with Binance's confidentiality policies or if it had been altered in some way.
As time passed and the promised Binance listing failed to materialize, investors grew increasingly anxious. Many began questioning Miles Anthony about the status of the listing. In response, he repeatedly reassured them that everything was on track and that the listing was still happening.
More chats:
Investors continued pressing Miles Anthony for answers, demanding to know why the DG token was losing value.
Chart illustrating the price drop of the DG token
One day, a message surfaced that caught everyone's attention. What had been presented as a guaranteed Binance listing now appeared to have conditions attached. It was revealed that for the listing to proceed, DG tokens needed to obtain a legal opinion confirming that they were not classified as securities. This raised new concerns among investors, as it contradicted the earlier assurances that the listing was imminent.
This revelation led to further questions directed at Miles Anthony regarding the legal standing of the project. Investors began seeking clarification on key concerns, including:
Miles Anthony was repeatedly questioned about the legality of the project. He consistently reassured investors that everything was in order, stating that DG had a gambling license. He specifically referenced a Costa Rica license, which, upon further investigation, appeared to be a company registration rather than an actual gambling license. Additionally, he firmly maintained that DG was not classified as a security.
One investor attempted to assist DG by arranging a meeting to explore a potential partnership with Bet365. While Bet365 showed interest in the metaverse casino concept, they also raised significant concerns regarding the legality of the operation led by Miles Anthony.
Miles Anthony repeatedly defended the legality of the operation, emphasizing that Decentral Games was not run by a traditional company with a CEO, but rather as a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). He argued that this structure distinguished it from conventional businesses.
While this explanation initially seemed plausible to many, certain aspects did not entirely add up, leading to further scrutiny and skepticism.
The same investor, now increasingly concerned about the legality of the operation, decided to seek professional advice. They reached out to BCAS (bcas.io), a law firm specializing in cryptocurrency regulations.
BCAS was tasked with conducting a legal assessment to determine whether DG tokens qualified as securities under the Howey Test, the industry standard for defining securities. Miles Anthony was directly involved in this conversation.
After conducting their assessment, BCAS reached the following conclusion:
BCAS concluded that DG tokens met the criteria of a security, contradicting the assurances previously given by Miles Anthony to investors. Despite receiving this legal assessment, Miles did not disclose the findings to investors and has continued to maintain that DG is not a security.
The full BCAS report can be accessed here: BCAS Report.
As expected, the anticipated Binance listing never materialized. Furthermore, the existence of a legal opinion from a respected law firm raised concerns about the classification and sale of DG tokens and the potential regulatory implications.
Later that year, Miles Anthony introduced a new product called ICE Poker, a play-to-earn game within the Web3 space. This model allowed users to acquire a specific type of NFT known as "wearables", which they could lend to other players. In return, the NFT owners would receive passive income based on the borrower's in-game activity.
This structure raised further questions, as it bore similarities to financial instruments that could be classified as securities.
More details about this model can be found in this article: The Metaverse Casino That Wasn't.
In simple terms, the ICE Poker model worked as follows: a user would acquire a wearable NFT and lend it to another player. The borrower was required to log in daily and complete in-game challenges without spending any money. By doing so, they would generate real money—both for themselves and for the NFT owner.
This structure raised concerns, as it led to the fundamental question: "Where does the money to pay the players come from?"
At the time, the team justified the system by stating that play-to-earn was a strategy to acquire users. The idea was that players would initially benefit from the rewards, but over time, they would be drawn into the casino, ultimately losing money through gambling.
At first, the ICE Poker model appeared to have some internal logic, but as time went on, concerns began to surface.
In 2022, a major news story spread across the media: the FBI charged a metaverse casino project called Flamingo Casino, which was also involved with NFTs. This led to discussions about potential similarities between Flamingo Casino and Decentral Games.
Relevant news coverage:
- NFT & GameFi: Flamingo Casino
- The Hill: Virtual Casino with Alleged Russian Ties
- Cointelegraph: Regulatory Action Against Metaverse Casino
Additionally, the U.S. government released official statements regarding the case:
Shortly after these events, Miles Anthony announced the shutdown of the casino, citing "marketing purposes" as the reason for the decision. However, at the same time, he initiated a forced buyback of another type of NFT that had been previously sold to investors.
This NFT represented the ownership of a virtual blackjack table within the metaverse casino, allowing holders to earn a share of the table's profits. Investors who had purchased these NFTs were required to sell them back at a discounted rate, receiving only a fraction of their original investment.
Michael Ryan Detaboada, the COO of the company, reportedly informed an investor that they should accept a significantly reduced payout for their NFT, as it would soon become worthless. He also assured them that the crypto casino gameplay would not return. However, despite this promise, the casino was later relaunched.
Miles Anthony claimed that investors willingly sold back their NFTs, which had previously generated passive income. However, investors argued that they were pressured into selling, as they were told that if they refused, their NFTs would lose all value—since at the end of the day, Decentral Games controlled the code and could determine the functionality of the assets.
This is the collection of wearable NFTs that were sold as part of the ICE Poker ecosystem, promoted by Miles Anthony. Some investors purchased these wearables for as much as $15,000. As of today, their value has dropped to approximately $18.
View the collection here: Decentral Games Premium Wearables.
Additionally, the ICE token was the in-game currency used to reward players within the play-to-earn model.
As expected, the ICE token eventually lost all its value. Without the casino in operation, there was no sustainable way to continue paying users indefinitely, as no real revenue was being generated.
When questioned about this, the team responded that rewards would come from the continued sale of wearable NFTs. However, this raised concerns that the system relied on new users purchasing NFTs to fund payouts for existing players—an economic structure often compared to a ponzi scheme.
Testimonials from investors taken from the Discord server:
In discussions, team members acknowledged that the play-to-earn model depended on continued NFT sales to sustain rewards, raising concerns about its viability.
This of course lead to a question which is often asked in the web3 space: "Where does the yield come from?" A quote that became relevant during the Luna crash.
More details on this topic can be found in the following article: The Metaverse Casino That Wasn't.
What raised even more concerns was the discovery that several team members allegedly acted on insider knowledge before the public announcement of the casino shutdown. Before the broader community had a chance to react, these individuals reportedly sold their own NFTs on the market, benefiting from information not yet disclosed to investors.
The picture highlights how Michael Ryan Detaboada was able to sell an NFT jacket for 5.2 ETH, which was worth approximately $10,000 at that time.
At this point, investors who had trusted Miles Anthony's company—believing they were securing ownership in a virtual casino—found themselves involved in a project that:
- Had been classified as an unregistered security by legal experts.
- Was no longer operating as a casino, despite the original promise.
- Never achieved the highly anticipated Binance listing, which had been one of the most compelling selling points.
- Offered a play-to-earn model that relied on an economic structure resembling a ponzi scheme.
But that wasn't the end of the issues—things only got worse.
As the price of ICE began to collapse, the community on Discord started raising concerns about why the casino had been shut down. Many investors began questioning the sustainability of the project, realizing that there were no clear mechanisms in place to generate revenue and sustain user payouts.
At this point, multiple team members responded, stating that Decentral Games was unable to relaunch the casino because they did not have the required licenses to do so. This revelation sparked an entirely new set of questions:
Did this mean that the casino was never legally operating under the Costa Rica license?
Investors began revisiting previous statements made by Miles Anthony, questioning the legitimacy of the licensing claims that had been made.
If Decentral Games (DG) already had a valid license, why was a new one needed to bring back the casino games?
Previously, the games had been offered worldwide with minimal restrictions, except in the U.S. So what changed?
Meanwhile, the DG token continued its collapse, and investors found themselves unable to exit their positions. The project lacked a clear direction, and many of the promises made to investors were broken. Questions arose regarding whether the project was operating within regulatory compliance.
By this point, in less than two years, the DG team had reportedly spent over $15 million of the funds raised, categorizing these expenditures as operating expenses.
After months of frustration and repeated demands from the community on Discord to bring back the casino games—since that was the core product they had invested in—Miles Anthony finally made an announcement. He stated that he had found a company willing to sell a Malta gaming license, which would allow Decentral Games to relaunch its casino legally.
The announcement was met with enthusiasm from the community, and a vote was held to approve the acquisition of the Malta license. The majority of token holders voted in favor, believing this would mark the return of the casino in full compliance with legal regulations.
How the voting process worked: DG token holders could create and vote on proposals through a governance platform called Snapshot. If a proposal passed, the team was expected to implement it—this was the core principle of operating as a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization).
The proposal for acquiring the Malta gaming license can be viewed here: Snapshot Proposal.
The company was acquired, and it initially seemed like everything was on track for the casino's return. However, months passed without the games going live, despite the community's expectations. Meanwhile, the team continued spending over $250,000 per month on what they classified as "operational costs."
As of March 18, 2025, the Malta gaming license remains inactive
In 2024, four years after the launch of the project, Miles Anthony announced that Decentral Games had acquired an Anjouan gaming license and that the casino games had been relaunched.
However, this raised new concerns within the community. Many investors questioned the jurisdictions in which the casino could legally operate under this particular license. Some community members even submitted support tickets, specifically asking why the games were being offered in regions where online gambling may not be legally permitted.
The response they received was as follows:
Another major concern raised by the community was the lack of KYC (Know Your Customer) verification during the sign-up and deposit process. Instead of a proper identity check, users were only required to tick a checkbox confirming that they were over 18 years old, making it an easily bypassable system for underage users.
Additionally, some community members expressed concerns that certain marketing materials and content developed by the DG team appeared to be designed in a way that could appeal to underage users, while still promoting gambling-related activities.
Example of such communications:
This is a matter of interpretation rather than a direct accusation. However, some community members have pointed out that elements of the casino's branding—such as a cartoonish, underage-looking frog welcoming users—could give the impression that the platform is designed to resemble a game for teenagers, despite being a gambling site.
Current Status
Miles Anthony and Michael Ryan Detaboada continue to maintain that there was no wrongdoing and that their entire operation has been legal.
Meanwhile, a Discord server has emerged where individuals who claim to have been affected by their actions have gathered to share their experiences. These include:
- Individuals who lost thousands of dollars through the play-to-earn model.
- Investors who bought DG tokens under the belief that they were securing ownership in a legally operating casino.
- A player who claims to have won a significant amount at the casino but was not paid. According to their account, they were even allegedly threatened with non-payment if they spoke publicly about the issue.
The picture displays a conversation between Miles Anthony and a user, in which Miles allegedly states that if the user posts anything on social media, they will not receive their winnings.
The same user has also claimed that, in the past, Miles approached them for assistance in creating artificial demand for the play-to-earn NFTs known as wearables. The alleged goal was to inflate perceived interest in these NFTs, encouraging others to purchase them at higher prices.
Baus is the nickname used by Miles Anthony. The term "Baus" is a stylized pronunciation of the word "boss".
Another investor pointed out that Miles Anthony raised over $9 million in 2021 and later purchased an apartment now valued at approximately $3.5 million. While no direct connection between the two events has been confirmed, some community members have found the timing noteworthy.
As of today, the casino games are operating under the Anjouan license. Meanwhile, as the community has started organizing efforts to explore potential claims against Miles Anthony and Michael Ryan Detaboada, the two have reportedly disabled the DAO. This has effectively shut down the Snapshot governance platform, which previously allowed DG token investors to create and vote on proposals regarding the future of the casino.
It is also worth noting that in 2024, DG tokens were rebranded as "BAG". This change was made, in part, because the price chart for DG had performed poorly, making it difficult to attract new investors. A fresh relaunch under a new name was seen as a way to improve investor sentiment.
These pictures illustrate that the ability to create proposals within the DAO is now restricted to a small group of pre-authorized individuals, one of whom is confirmed to be Miles Anthony. Meanwhile, regular investors who have acquired DG or BAG tokens are no longer able to participate in governance or propose changes.
Remember when Miles Anthony justified the legality of the operation by emphasizing that it was structured as a DAO?
The DAO has effectively become a system where only team members can create proposals, excluding the broader community from decision-making.
Many community members have expressed their frustration over this shift, particularly regarding the company's monthly spending of over $220,000. Despite the concerns, investors have no ability to propose changes to reduce expenses, as governance participation has been restricted. This has led to accusations that the original promise of a decentralized, community-driven project has been abandoned.
Additionally, in the final months of 2024 and into early 2025, Miles Anthony reportedly began moving funds that were supposed to belong to the DAO—without creating proposals or seeking investor approval. When confronted by the community in the Discord group, this was his response:
This statement directly contradicts the claim that the company was operating as a DAO. Instead, it suggests that the project has functioned as a traditional company with a CEO who can make unilateral decisions.
This structure is vastly different from the commonly understood definition of a DAO in the Web3 space, where governance is typically decentralized and controlled by token holders.
As a final note, another investor has come forward and shared the following with the community:
The investor claims that they are playing SnG (Sit and Go) poker while residing in the United States.
According to the investor, Miles Anthony and his team developed a product called Arcade Poker, which introduced additional steps in an attempt to bypass gambling regulations in the U.S.
In Arcade Poker, players first had to acquire Tickets. These could be purchased using USDT, other cryptocurrencies, or even credit cards. Players would then use these Tickets to enter Sit and Go poker tournaments. If they won, they would receive Badges. These Badges could then be redeemed for monetary prizes in the form of DAI—a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Effectively, this meant that players were still paying to enter a tournament, competing, and potentially winning real money. Critics argue that this structure was simply a way to repackage gambling with additional steps while still functioning as a real-money poker system.
Acknowledgment of Wrongdoing
It has been noted that Miles Anthony acknowledged selling a token that was later determined to be a security. Additionally, despite holding a gaming license, it was revealed that the license did not permit certain activities that were being conducted under the project.
Investor Concerns Regarding Compliance
Some investors have raised concerns that early versions of the casino operated without KYC (Know Your Customer) verification. This meant that users could play anonymously, including those from jurisdictions where certain types of online gambling were restricted. These investors argue that the absence of KYC measures may have created an environment where illicit financial activities could take place.
Telegram Development
In 2024, Miles Anthony directed the team's efforts toward developing a mini-app on Telegram for the casino. The app was successfully completed and launched under the name Pocket Casino. However, after just one month, Telegram banned the bot.
It is widely understood that the only way for a casino to operate on Telegram without facing a ban is to provide the necessary gambling licenses for regulatory approval.
As of today, the Telegram app remains unavailable. No official explanation has been provided by Miles Anthony regarding why the app was not reinstated, though many in the community have drawn their own conclusions.
Current Financial Structure
At present, only $800,000 in assets remain from the over $20 million that was originally raised through the sales of DG tokens and ICE Poker wearables.
Despite this, the team continues to spend approximately $150,000 per month, leaving the project with an estimated four months of runway before funds are fully depleted. Meanwhile, the company is reportedly generating little to no revenue.
Some community members have speculated that this could be an exit strategy, allowing Miles Anthony to bankrupt the DAO and bring the project to an end, potentially framing the situation as mismanagement rather than wrongdoing.
It is a widely held belief among observers that if a company only has four months of financial reserves left and is not generating revenue, a radical reduction in costs should be implemented immediately.
Memes
Despite the ongoing concerns and controversies, the community remains hopeful that a thorough discussion will take place to assess whether the actions of Miles Anthony and the team were appropriate.
In the meantime, users have taken to creating memes about the situation, using humor as a way to cope with the uncertainties surrounding the project.
Additional Sources
