BetDino loses gambling license in Malta
The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) announced the suspension of BetDino’s gambling license last week after the operator failed to provide the regulator certain fees that it was liable to pay. The Malta-based gambling operator becomes the third entity to see its license revoked by the MGA this year. The Authority suspended the licenses of Betago Limited and Genesis Global Limited last month.
The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) announced the suspension of BetDino’s gambling license.
©Mike Nahlii/Unsplash
In regulated gambling markets around the globe, every gambling operator that holds a gambling license in a specific country is liable to pay a certain fee to that country’s gambling authority to retain its license in that country. The MGA also functions the same way. Apart from several other obligations that include limitations of promotions and player safety, all licensed operators are liable to pay a certain fee to the MGA.
Failure to pay this fee despite reminders results in the cancellation of the operator’s gambling license. All the obligations of operators are specified in the Gaming Compliance and Enforcement Regulations of the MGA. Despite that, BetDino failed to complete a necessary transaction and saw its license cancelled by the Gambling Authority of Malta.
The revocation of BetDino’s gambling license took place on January 18, 2023, but the incident was publicized by the MGA last week. According to the MGA’s report, BetDino was in direct violation of regulations 9 (1) (c) and (l) of the Gaming Compliance and Enforcement Regulations of MGA. Under section 9 of the aforementioned regulations, the MGA has the authority to revoke the license of an operator which does not comply with the directives put forth by the regulator. Since BetDino failed to pay the undisclosed fee to the regulator in a timely manner, the gambling license issued by the MGA was revoked with immediate effect. Without a gambling license, the Malta-based BetDino cannot offer any gambling services to the Maltese audience. If the operator still makes its site available to the locals, the MGA will abide by the regulations once again and issue a hefty fine to the operator.
Including the cancelation of BetDino’s license, the MGA has revoked three gambling licenses so far this year. Genesis Global Limited and Betago Limited lost their licenses in Malta after similar infringements last month. According to reports, in December 2022 the operator entered insolvency and almost all of its staff was laid off. On the verge of being wound up, the operator violated section 9 (1) (f) of the Gaming Compliance and Enforcement Regulations. Betago Limited faced the same repercussions after violating three sub-sections of the rulebook that all revolved around the operator’s failure to fulfil its financial commitments by paying a certain fee to the authority. This saw the operator breach sections 9 (1) (c), (d) and (l) of the Gaming Compliance and Enforcement Regulations.
MGA cancelled three gaming licenses in December
Before cancelling three licenses in the new year, the MGA cancelled the gambling licenses of three other operators in the last month of 2022. M-Hub Gaming C4 Limited, Morpheus Games and eGaming Lab Limited were the three entities that got their respective gambling licenses revoked after failing to pay their license fees on time. The MGA, as per protocol, had issued a 20-day notice as a reminder for the completion of the necessary transaction. However, none of the entities reacted to it and ended up losing their licenses.
Apart from the suspension of licenses, two of the aforementioned operators were issued a five-working days ultimatum to clear their massive dues. eGaming Lab was liable to pay an amount of €50,083 while Morpheus Games had to pay a total of €80,775 to the MGA in order to dodge severe repercussions. M-Hub Gaming had not accumulated any such amount that was supposed to be paid to the regulator. Hence, it dodged that bullet but still had its license cancelled and was no longer legitimate in Malta.
The fight against illegal gambling in Malta
Several gambling operators across the world are constantly trying to enter regulated markets without a valid license as the gambling authorities fight to prevent that from happening. The MGA is also involved in this fight as it tries to ensure safer gambling for its audiences. The licensed operators have to comply with the regulations set forth by the authorities. However, undetected unlicensed operators offer services to Maltese nationals without keeping any regulations in mind. On several occasions, lucrative bonuses are offered to lure customers onto illegal platforms.
The crackdown on illegal gambling sites continues amidst vigilant monitoring of licensed operators. In October last year, the MGA published a list of domains that were offering illegal gambling in the country. This list was published to make the nationals aware so that they can avoid partaking in any gambling activities followed by the mentioned unlicensed operators. The majority of the players cannot differentiate between legal and illegal gambling sites and that issue persists not just in Malta but all over the world. The MGA, like all other gambling authorities in the world, keeps a sharp eye out to detect illegal operators and acts on it after detection with measures specified in the rulebook.
