6 Malta-based companies Seized, Gaming Licenses Suspended ...

[Bonus Paradise]

Wow, crazy times now !

Six companies registered in Malta have had their assets seized as part of a major clamp-down spearheaded by the Italian police on illegal gaming activities and money laundering linked the the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta'.

Companies involved in igaming have also had their licences suspended by the Malta Gaming Authority.

The Malta-based companies alleged by the Italian police to be involved in the illegal activities are Uniq Group Ltd, Uniq Shopping Ltd, Tebaral Holding Ltd, Tebaral Trading Ltd, Betsolution4U Ltd and Fast Run Ltd.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/article...seized-licences-suspended-over-alleged.577658

 

[AussieDave]

Could be the start of something here... just sayin

 

[Biti]

It's time to clean up some shit!

 

[Biti]

And perhaps this will be the end of Malta as a serious gambling jurisdiction...

 

[AussieDave]

It's time to clean up some shit!

There's a lot of shit out there in our industry, long overdue for the wash, rinse and spin cycle.

And perhaps this will be the end of Malta as a serious gambling jurisdiction...

Lets be frank here most, aside from UK/Australia, gambling jurisdiction are spineless/toothless. If they were anything but casinos/bookies et al wouldn't base their operations there.

Prime example Kahnawake... As soon as they started to force operators to be accountable, most shifted.

 

[Biti]

True. UK I've got to see. Many typical UK bookies don't have a that good reputation, but let's give it a chance.

A tiny country like Malta we cannot take serious. If they move a finger, everybody will go somewhere else... so they're not moving a finger. But that's not the idea of a serious jurisdiction. They should find some other hobby that brings them money over there...

 

[AussieDave]

A tiny country like Malta we cannot take serious. If they move a finger, everybody will go somewhere else... so they're not moving a finger. But that's not the idea of a serious jurisdiction.

That's so true.

If you have a look at one of the very popular Malta based casinos who just recently moved to their own games server, you may have noticed changes. Previously at the footer of ALL games they displayed company details for Malta. Now their Licensing pertaining to certain game providers are listed as being incorporated & licensed in Curacao. Like Malta, Curacao is spineless when it comes to player complaints. Then again so too is GGC (Gibraltar Gaming Commission) et al.

I'm hoping the UK changes all this but like yourself Biti I'm not 100% hopefully.

I base my doubts on the motivation behind it. It's a tax cash grab. Not dissimilar by nature to some affiliate forums who places $$$'s first, instead of their members welfare... Anything of this nature that's founded on cash-first, consumer issues 2'nd (or so it would seem), makes me feel uncomfortable. However I'm keeping an open mind, least for now.

 

[Biti]

Yep, Curacao is even more spineless than Malta. But, the difference isn't that big as many people were thinking. In Malta it's perhaps more expensive and a little more difficult, that's why many have choosen to get a license in Curacao. Or be based in Costa Rica, Belize, Gibraltar or where ever governments let them do what they're doing.

Now 'the West' is convinced about the worth of online gambling as tax income. So, the end for Malta, Curacao, etc as a gambling jurisdiction is near. And they've got the change to do also something for customers, a thing that Malta,. Curacao, Gibraltar etc never have done. I agree with you. Same as f.e. GPWA. It's cash first, customers second. Sooner or later something like that will fal..

 

[peterhanneman]

Yes these are now a days common as their are many scammers are their who are ready to take thousands of money away from us.

 

[RyanWeb]

I just got back from a week long vacation, reading the forums when I had service.. Even got a few phone calls.. What a mess... The entire week... Just spent a good amount of time cleaning up my sites. I will be much more careful about who i promote and/or send players to from now on. Going to cut down even further who I promote in the meanwhile..

 

[AussieDave]

I will be much more careful about who i promote and/or send players to from now on. Going to cut down even further who I promote in the meanwhile..

When I was a noob (way back) I was promoting any casino I could. Soon I realised that wasn't the best way to go. From that point I became very anal on who I worked with. Granted my visitors have less choice but I have far less headaches. Not to mention I know my players are being looked after. As secondary, it's a none too nice feeling knowing you've marketed XYZ casino and then they go belly-up. Thoughts start creeping in like... are they selling my players to another casino and shafting me and also the lose of your own investment.

Reiterating being selective lessens the risk both from a finacial aspect and your own mental well-being.

 

[Frank]

Yep, Curacao is even more spineless than Malta. But, the difference isn't that big as many people were thinking. In Malta it's perhaps more expensive and a little more difficult, that's why many have choosen to get a license in Curacao. Or be based in Costa Rica, Belize, Gibraltar or where ever governments let them do what they're doing.

Now 'the West' is convinced about the worth of online gambling as tax income. So, the end for Malta, Curacao, etc as a gambling jurisdiction is near. And they've got the change to do also something for customers, a thing that Malta,. Curacao, Gibraltar etc never have done. I agree with you. Same as f.e. GPWA. It's cash first, customers second. Sooner or later something like that will fal..

Costa Rica went on a massive cull back in 2005-6 it's never been what it once was, there are a few call centers there operating as data centers but most if not all wagers are processed outside, all the big boy's left leaving just a handful of bookies

 

[cassaon888]

And perhaps this will be the end of Malta as a serious gambling jurisdiction...

I agree.

I'm beginning to question Malta's integrity as a jurisdiction.

If one compares say Malta to Alderney I guess the time has come for Malta to up its game significantly.

From the looks of things it's just chasing the green-bill instead of imposing stricter measures/criteria on potential casinos before it issues a license.

 

[CCIndex]

That's so true.

If you have a look at one of the very popular Malta based casinos who just recently moved to their own games server, you may have noticed changes. Previously at the footer of ALL games they displayed company details for Malta. Now their Licensing pertaining to certain game providers are listed as being incorporated & licensed in Curacao. Like Malta, Curacao is spineless when it comes to player complaints. Then again so too is GGC (Gibraltar Gaming Commission) et al.

I'm hoping the UK changes all this but like yourself Biti I'm not 100% hopefully.

I base my doubts on the motivation behind it. It's a tax cash grab. Not dissimilar by nature to some affiliate forums who places $$$'s first, instead of their members welfare... Anything of this nature that's founded on cash-first, consumer issues 2'nd (or so it would seem), makes me feel uncomfortable. However I'm keeping an open mind, least for now.

Many casinos have different licenses because they use the providers b2c license which is more cost effective. It's very expensive to get a license for each products since nowadays the casinos have so many different games. It is to say there's a lot of white labels that are constantly appearing from everywhere and usually have a very low budget! In my opinion this case could not be easily tracked as most Italian companies have boots around Italy that deals with case which is easier to launder.

 

[CCIndex]

Many casinos have different licenses because they use the providers b2c license which is more cost effective. It's very expensive to get a license for each products since nowadays the casinos have so many different games. It is to say there's a lot of white labels that are constantly appearing from everywhere and usually have a very low budget! In my opinion this case could not be easily tracked as most Italian companies have boots around Italy that deals with case which is easier to launder.

I meant ; In my opinion this case could not be easily tracked as most Italian companies have boots around Italy that deals with CASH which is easier to launder. Anyways there is a lot to improve from any jurisdiction around...

 

[AussieDave]

most Italian companies have boots around Italy that deals with CASH which is easier to launder.

I thought Italy was famous for their shoes, not boots. Sorry just my warped sense of humour

What do you mean by "boots"?

 

[CCIndex]

I thought Italy was famous for their shoes, not boots. Sorry just my warped sense of humour

What do you mean by "boots"?

Doesn't Italy look like a boot lol I meant betting booths (shops) ...

 

[Biti]

@cassaon888: Yep, perhaps for player issues it's one of the less worst options, but due diligence and other issues (like for example AffPower) seems to be quite weak.

Anyway, in 10 years every European country will have its own license system, so many companies will leave Malta.