Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has suspended the gaming authorisation it previously issued to UAE-based online lottery, Arabmillionaire Limited, for breaching a wide range of the Authority’s regulations.
The business’s B2C – Gaming Service Licence is suspended from 12 October, meaning that the company will no longer be able to carry out gaming operations, register players or accept new deposits under the MGA’s licence.
Arabmillionaire is still required to retain and provide access to all registered player accounts, as well as refunding all funds still active on the site.
The MGA listed five specific provisions that were breached by the operator. According to the Authority, Arabmillionaire failed to comply with orders issued by the MGA, failed to complete its regulatory obligations, has failed to discharge financial commitments for its operations, breached the regulator’s rules on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing, as well as failed to pay “in a timely manner all amount due to the Authority.”
Arabmillionaire now trades under the Playfooz.com brand, which still lists its suspended MGA licence registration at the foot of the site.
In the MGA’s 2021 report it was revealed that the Authority had opted to use a softer touch, issuing fewer licence cancellations and suspensions, rather making better use of administrative penalties and warnings to discipline licence holders.
The MGA cancelled seven licences and did not suspend a single licence in the 2021 period, compared to the 14 cancelled and 11 suspended in 2019.
“Enforcement is crucial for the authority; it helps us fulfil our mandate as a regulator. It is not only a necessary tool in our arsenal to achieve the mandate set out by law, but also essential as a measure of fairness towards licensees that are compliant,” stated the report.
“We ensure that our enforcement processes and procedures are streamlined and effective, with adequate room for adaptation wherever necessary.”
The MGA recently warned customers about the number of illegal sites operating in the country; referencing 18 domains, many of which were ran by the same operator.
