Let's face it, what the judge did was a miscarriage of justice. If that guy was sacked based on the subject matter, it would have been a different thing but he was emphatically sacked for crypto involvement despite not being illegal in his country, these are two different things and this guy was not involved in suspicious acts, neither did he err in his responsibilities as an employee, so we should not drag it far.
Also, desperation is a different context that never showed in the suit. Gambling or not, employees are desperate on a daily basis, it is now left to how the establishment tightens its security not to allow unsuspected/unscrupulous employees to take advantage of it.
What kind of security are we talking about? What could this employee have done to make the management so angry at him? Most likely, this person crossed someone before all this. Just banal competition for a position. This happened to me. At my previous place of work, they simply wanted to force me out of my position and spread all sorts of rumors about me. Yes, it worked in the end, since the information reached the boss. Of course, this was all a banal lie, but who can you prove it to? This is how the modern world works. I had to deal with such a lousy team, where rottenness and cynicism reign.
This is another brilliant angle you took it from, it could have an undertone that we do not know about. Employees have enemies and at times those top people want them gone, and it could be for a light offence that was aggravated or for disloyalty. This could be an act they also committing or are privy to know that other employees commit but will turn a blind eye. I still feel so awful about this case to be candid, and like you, I was a victim of setup in one of the places I worked, but I won. People could be wicked.