UKGC Suspends Stakers’ Betting License Over Compliance Issues
The UK Gambling Commission has suspended Stakers’ betting license over several compliance issues.
In a statement on the official Gambling Commission website, the regulatory body revealed that it’s imposed the suspension under section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005. As a result, Stakers is prohibited from offering gambling services to users based in the UK.
In addition, the UK Gambling Commission has instructed Stakers to make it easier for customers to access their accounts and withdraw funds. Players have been told to not place any bets or make any deposits on the Stakers.com website.
In its statement, the Commission explained that it believes Stakers had breached a condition of their license and are therefore unsuitable to continue offering its gambling services to customers based in the jurisdiction. As a condition of its suspension, the Commission will launch a review into the firm.
The Commission believes Stakers is in violation of Section 116 (2)(a) of the Gambling Act 2005 and section 116(2)(c)(i) of the Gambling Act 2005. Both sections allow the Commission to launch license reviews on operators if they believe they have violated the conditions of their license.
Users who visit the stakers.com website are greeted with a mock newspaper pop-up reading: “The thrilling adventure of two wonderful gentlemen Mr Boo and Mr Kie suddenly interrupted. Despite our efforts to tighten the compliance rules, even more was required from our community. Our dearest friends, we are temporarily suspending our operation and with your support, we will be back soon.”
Gambling Commission Fines
The news comes just days after the Gambling Business Group (GBG) revealed that the Commission had collected almost £60 million in penalties over the last five and a half years. According to GBG, the Commission spent £756,997 of that amount to cover its own costs including investigations. Meanwhile, around £24 million of the funds were paid back to people who fell victim to illegal gambling activity while another £24.8 million was spent on “socially responsible purposes”.
Just last month, the UK Gambling Commission suspended Addison Global’s gambling license due to its inability to honour its outstanding debts. Soon after Addison Global’s license was suspended by the UK Gambling Commission and the Gibraltar Licensing Authority, its MoPlay betting site was declared insolvent.
Reports revealed that MoPlay and its operator Addison Global Limited owed large sums of money to various affiliate partners, money which has been owed since March 2019. Meanwhile, customers of MoPlay are no longer able to withdraw funds from their account now the company has become insolvent.
The UK Gambling Commission also suspended Triplebet’s operating license last month, completely closing down its Matchbook betting site. At the time of writing, customers in the UK can no longer gamble at the website but are still able to withdraw any remaining funds from their account.