Uri Poliavich

Uri Poliavich (born 1981, Ukraine) is a businessman, philanthropist, and the founder of Soft2Bet. Poliavich contributed to Jewish education around the world, funding both day schools and extracurricular programs for Jewish children and families.

Biography

Poliavich was born in 1981. At the age of 14, Poliavich’s family moved to Israel, where he completed high school and completed his mandatory three-year military service.

Between 2005 and 2009, he earned a Bachelor of Law (LLB) in Legal Studies from Bar-Ilan University. Poliavich began his career as a lawyer, working primarily in commercial and real estate.

Career

Between 2007 and 2010, Poliavich worked as a legal intern at HBW Law, specialising in M&A contracts for international commercial and real estate deals. In 2010-2012, he served as VP of Business Development at WK Group, managing diverse business operations of the group in Central Asia and working with major iGaming suppliers such as Microgaming, BetConstruct, and Playtech. In 2012, Poliavich moved with his family to Moldova, and simultaneously held a role at Playtech as a Consultant for Emerging Markets, developing business opportunities and expanding Playtech’s presence in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. He was also COO at IMS Limited overseeing igaming operations, customer support, finance, and marketing until August 2016.

In 2016, Poliavich founded Soft2Bet, which began as a startup and has grown into a global iGaming provider, reaching several key milestones:

• Secured 16 global licenses and launched multiple gaming brands.
• Led the development of the Motivational Engineering Gaming Application (MEGA), a gamification-driven platform designed to enhance player engagement and revenue growth.
• The MEGA platform was named "Product Launch of the Year" at the 2025 Global Gaming Awards in the EMEA region

In 2024, Poliavich expanded Sof2Bet’s operations in Malta, officially opening a new local office.

Poliavich expanded the Group operations to the North American market by obtaining an iGaming licensee issued by the AGCO (Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario).

In 2024, Poliavich introduced Soft2Bet Invest, a $52 million investment fund designed to support emerging companies and entrepreneurs in the gaming sector. This initiative received the “Outstanding Contribution to Gaming” award at SIGMA in September 2024.

In September 2024, he was recognised as the "Leader of the Year" at the SBC Awards  and as Executive of the year by Global Gaming Awards EMEA.

Philanthropy

After moving to Israel and graduating from the law faculty at Bar-Ilan University, Poliavich contributed to Jewish education around the world, funding both day schools and extracurricular programs for Jewish children and families.

In 2020, he and his wife, Yael, established the Yael Foundation. As of 2025, the foundation operates in 37 countries, supporting over 13,500 Jewish children through educational programs, summer camps, and other initiatives.

In 2024, Poliavich was named among the top 50 most influential Jews in the world.

Poliavich collaborates with other global Jewish leaders, like Ronald Lauder, to support Jewish education.

The Yael Foundation helps keep Jewish communities, and schools in particular, secure and safe in the face of Antisemitism.

Controversies and Media Attacks

Since 2023, Uri Poliavich has been the subject of coordinated defamation and antisemitic attacks targeting his philanthropic and educational initiatives.

The EU Political Report article referred to a report by Belgian analyst and former intelligence officer Claude Moniquet of the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center, which described these campaigns as politically motivated disinformation directed at Poliavich, among other Jewish entrepreneurs and philanthropists in Europe. Moniquet’s analysis stated that the attacks against Poliavich were based on fabricated allegations concerning his business activities and sought to discredit his educational and humanitarian work. These narratives were disseminated through digital platforms and fringe media outlets, often echoing antisemitic tropes and conspiracy themes that have been legally challenged in several jurisdictions.