SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Malta’s gambling regulator, the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), has officially distanced itself from operator casinowinner.io.
In a comment published on the MGA’s website, the authority referred to statements made by the operator that it is a Maltese licence holder.
“Any reference to the MGA and/or gaming licence/s said to be issued by the Maltese Authority, as stated by casinowinner.io/, is false and misleading,” the authority added.
When a visit is made to the casinowinner.io website, no affiliation to the MGA can be seen, signalling that the operator has removed the small text. However, there are still a number of other licenses quoted – Cyprus, Netherlands, and Curaçao.
A quick reference with online casino comparison tool Rotativka suggests that CasinoWinner’s primary license is the Curaçao one, but that also confirmation of this “can be challenging”.
“Players should consider this when engaging with the site and be cautious due to the limited and vague details provided in the terms of use,” Rotativka added.
One other eye-catching detail is that the operator’s online casino offering is composed of games by well-known licensed suppliers on the UK market, including YGGDRASIL, Playtech, Pragmatic Play, Novomatic, and Evolution Gaming, among others.
A prevalent issue
Offshore operators offering games familiar to UK customers is an issue well-known to the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). At the start of the year, the regulator officially addressed the problem by warning consumers about the dangers of playing such games on the black market.
The UKGC further called for licensed suppliers and operators to “actively monitor” business relationships to ensure that games do not end up on non-compliant gambling websites.
In a similar fashion amid the casinowinner.io debacle, the MGA has also advised users to cross-examine an operator’s licence with the regulator’s own database.
Recently, another operator was also caught misleading its customers with its supposed MGA affiliation. This was GOD55, which brought controversy upon Birmingham City after being announced as its latest sponsor.
