Malta’s gaming regulators have suspended the license of the company behind online gambling site GameBet.com.
On Wednesday, the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) announced that it had suspended the gaming license of Bet Service Group Ltd, the parent company of GameBet. The company has been ordered to “indefinitely” suspend gaming operations, cease signing up new customers or accepting deposits and submit all data sought by the MGA.
The MGA said it wouldn’t release any further information regarding its rationale for suspending Bet Service’s license so as not to “compromise any investigations” that the MGA or “any other competent authority” may need to perform. But the MGA did invite players who have “any outstanding payments due to them” from Bet Service to contact the regulator with details.
Despite the MGA’s announcement, as of Thursday, the GameBet.com site continues to display the MGA logo and the site’s fine print continues to claim that the site’s sportsbook is “licensed and regulated” by the MGA, while its other gaming products are licensed by the jurisdiction of Curacao.
Last week saw the MGA deny any connection to four different online gambling sites — Sunny-casino.net, Lucky-casino.co, White-casino.net and Malta-casino.com. The MGA warned players that any claims by these operators to be operating under the MGA’s regulatory supervision are “false and misleading.”
Two of the sites – Lucky-casino and Malta-casino – are part of the Malta-based TEM Group Ltd, while the others claim to be run by MT SuperPlay Ltd. All four sites prominently display Russian-language options, while the SuperPlay sites also offer services in Polish.
The TEM Group is no stranger to the MGA. In February 2017, the MGA disavowed any connection to 10 different sites, including the TEM-affiliated Greatway-casino.net. Greatway still claims to be operating under a Malta license, although it also states that the license was issued by Malta’s Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LGA), the MGA’s previous corporate identity that hasn’t existed since 2015. Both TEM sites cited by the MGA last week also feature the LGA language.
