Genesis Global will exit the UK market, while Ariel Reem has also left his post as chief executive.
Consumers seeking to register with one of Genesis Global’s 14 active sites in Britain are met with a message that says they are trying to register from a country that it does not accept bets from.
The operator confirmed to iGB that it will close its UK sites on 6 December. The site will remain open for players to withdrawl funds until 30 December.
According to the Great Britain Gambling Commission’s website, Genesis currently operates Casinoplanet.com, Casoola.com, Kassu.com, Casinocruise.com, Casinogods.com, Casinojoy.com, Casinolab.com, Casinomasters.com, Genesiscasino.com, Pelaa.com, Sloty.com, Spela.com, Spinit.com and Vegashero.com in Britain.
“Unfortunately you are registering from a country that we do not accept bets from,” a message read on Genesiscasino.com. “We will not be able to proceed with your registration.”
The operator’s main corporate website is also currently not accessible.
Genesis Global CEO exits
Meanwhile, Reem posted an update on his LinkedIn page last night (5 December) to confirm he had left his role as CEO of Genesis. Reem led the business since its formation in 2014, but according to the employment history section of his LinkedIn profile, he left his role at Genesis last month.
Reem did not disclose the reasons for his departure, nor did he reference the blocking of new registrations in Britain.
“It is time to move on to the next challenge/adventure,” Reem said in the post. “How to summarise eight years when building it from scratch? Over the years I saw how ideas were turned into reality and how impossible or extremely hard tasks were overcome with perseverance and passion.
“One of the most rewarding aspects of my role has been witnessing people develop themselves and many times breaking through their own perceived boundaries. To this end I was and still am inspired by all of you. I hope to see you around.”
Prior to joining Genesis, Reem spent over six years with Mansion, first serving as its head of retention and internal marketing for CRM, and later director of marketing operations.
Earlier in his career, Reem had three-year spell as marketing planning and strategy manager for Orange Telecommunication.
2020 licence suspension
Reem’s exit and the halting of new British registrations comes after Genesis in January was fined £3.8m (€4.4m/$4.6m) by the Gambling Commission after enquiries revealed a series of social responsibility and money laundering failings.
Genesis had its licence suspended in July 2020 while the Commission carried out a review of the operator’s activities in relation to potential breaches of section 116(2)(a) and section 116(2)(c)(i) of the Gambling Act.
This was appealed by the operator, which resulted in the suspension being lifted in October 2020, though the regulator continued with its review.
This investigation, the Commission said, uncovered further failings including a series of breaches of the operator’s licensing conditions.
Specific breaches included paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of licence condition 12.1.1 – dealing with anti-money laundering, which is related to the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. The Commission also identified a breach of licence condition 12.1.2, which cover anti-money laundering measures for operators based in foreign jurisdictions.
Other breaches included a failure to comply with social responsibility code of practice (SRCP) 3.4.1 in terms of customer interaction, as well as a failure to comply with SRCP 3.9.1, relating to the identification of individual customers.
