If you like gambling gossip, then news of fines, suspensions, and one of the first cases of the UK prosecuting an illegal firm are all here! (Image by chaylek on Vecteezy)
To keep you updated on what’s happening with various online casino brands getting into hot water with their respective licensing authorities, we’re recapping some of the top news.
I know, if you are a promotions and bonuses geek, this isn’t the news you want to read. And I hear you because you are all action, but for the benefit of those out there who love a bit of gossip, here we are!
We have plenty of other exciting gossip if you are interested. Murder in a dice game was one of the most bizarre we’ve had lately, which you can catch via my Hot Gambling Gossip news story!
What’s in Today’s Latest News?
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- MGA: We have license suspensions by the Malta Gaming Authority and several more licensing warnings of gambling sites using the MGA logo.
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- UKGC: The prosecution of an illegal online sportsbook.
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- AGCO: In Canada’s Ontario iGaming market, Playtech’s NorthStar brand receives a fine.
Two Operators Suspended by the Malta Gambling Authority (MGA)
The MGA means business! When online casinos or sportsbooks don’t toe the line, the authority has no problem suspending the licensee.
- Goldwin Ltd: I am not sure what the connection is with Goldwin Casino, which is registered under Gladiator Holding N.V., now after the casino switched to the GCB licensing under Curacao. Either way, we’ve already listed the Curacao version as not recommended by Casinoplusbonus as per the Goldwin review here.
It seems that the MGA version of Goldwin, connected or not, has broken the rules set out by the MGA. The MGA licence MGA/B2C/533/2018 number has been suspended since 25 September for breach of several rules, such as meeting commitments to players in a timely manner as per the Suspension of Authorisation for Goldwin Ltd (C 79820) report on the MGA website published on 1 October 2024.
- Dimsacon Limited: The operator Dimsacon Limited took over LeoVegas.ro to serve the Romanian market. However, its MGA Recognition Notice R.N./225/2021 has been suspended. The decision is up for appeal, according to the report published by the MGA on 3 October 2024.
You can see both news stories and the infractions listed by the licensing authority in the MGA news page here. We’ll keep an eye out and update this post if the situation with either operator changes.
Sorare.com to Appear in U.K. Courts for Offering Illegal Online Gambling Services
The site aimed at football fans, Sorare.com, is going to court according to a notice issued by the UKGC. The court case will take place at Birmingham Magistrates on 4 October. We will see whether the operator pleads no contest to the charges or whether the operator will opt to go before a jury, which would ultimately mean crown court.
For now, looking at the current news story, the site does not hold any UKGC licensing to serve UK players, which the UKGC referenced as “providing facilities for gambling without holding an operating licence contrary to section 33(1), (4), and section 36(3), (3A) of the Gambling Act 2005”.
Northstar Ontario Receives a $30,000 Fine!
It’s not often we see operators break the rules in the Canadian Ontario online gambling market.
In October, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) found that NorthStar Gaming (Ontario) Inc.’s gambling site had failed to prevent players from outside Ontario from accessing its site.
The rules under the AGCO licensing for NorthStarBets.ca are that only players in Ontario can sign up and register. There is an exception, and that is if the site has made a deal with another province or territory to allow players to access their site.
What I find confusing is that a fine should be initiated if the platform allows players to pass KYC checks. Yet, this fine was a random test carried out from New York and Quebec to test whether the NorthStarBets.ca site can recognise these areas are not in Ontario and restrict users from access.
NorthStar failed the AGCO’s test.
On top of this, according to the AGCO Northstar report, the operator has also failed to produce Regisrar info as well as a range of other documentation.
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