UKGC Suspends Licence- Bet-At-Home.Com

[Garf79]

A sign that the UKGC is stepping up its regulatory duties comes as it suspends the operating licence for Bet At Home gambling platform but what does this actually mean and can Bet At Home still operate in the UK?

The first step in opening an online casino is obtaining the appropriate gaming license. The permission issued by the special gambling committee is valid proof that the ongoing business is legitimate and the winnings payouts are guaranteed. The gambling license is required for any gambling activity, including games with bets or luck: slots, poker, roulette, lottery and sports betting. So can you still operate without a licence?

The available gambling licences are in place so as to not only protect you, the punter, from those unlicensed platforms which could operate scam sites, but also to protect the platforms themselves,. Gambling in the UK is considered legal and it is possible for companies to set up gambling platforms as long as they possess an official licence from the UKGC. So although illegal technically gambling sites can still run a business in the UK without a licence, they may however get their URL's blocked but there are also ways around this. So in all honestly it is best to play on casinos that are regulated as your funds are protected to some degree and you will have the UKGC monitoring activity. Below is the text put out from the UKGC regarding the Betathome.com website, it is fairly ambiguous  and not much detail is provided but some of you may want to have a quick read.

 

Quote

 

The Gambling Commission has suspended the operating licence of bet-at-home.com Internet Limited (operating licence no 039091-R-319322-006) as it carries out a review under section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005 (the Act).

The review and consequent suspension follows concerns that activities may have been carried out contrary to the Act, not in accordance with conditions of their licence and that the Licensee may be unsuitable to carry on the licensed activities. Suspected social responsibility and anti-money laundering failings were key considerations in the suspension decision.

In accordance with section 118 (2) of the Act the Commission has determined to suspend the above operating licence.

We have made it clear to the operator that during the course of the suspension, we expect it to focus on treating consumers fairly and keeping them fully informed of any developments which impact them.

The suspension does not prevent the operator from allowing consumers to access their accounts and withdrawing funds. Bet-at-home.com Internet Limited – which operates bet-at-home.com, bet-at-home.co.uk and uk.bet-at-home.com – can be contacted through its website.

The suspension takes place immediately.    (SOURCE)