Online casino operator’s licence suspended by UKGC

The UK Gambling Commission confirmed Friday that it has suspended the online gambling licensing awarded to Smart TV Broadcasting Ltd to operate online casinos like Guruplay.com, Smartlivebaccarat.com, Smartlivebingo.com, Smartliveblackjack.com, Smartlivecasino.com, Smartlivepoker.com and Smartlivesports.com.

No reason for the review was given, other than the bland statement that the process was to consider whether the operator, who is also licensed in Malta, is suitable to conduct licensed online gambling activity.

The Commission characterised the suspension as an interim measure whilst the review takes place, but required the operator to settle any outstanding winning bets and return positive account balances to its players.

And, rather ominously, the Commission noted that at present it has no information regarding the situation with players’ funds (presumably those which are the responsibility of the operator).

There was no comment regarding the Malta-licensed live-dealer activity of the operator, Smartlivegaming.com, which appeared to remain active when we went to press Saturday morning, with the group’s other sites re-directing to it.

The operator has been active on the internet gambling scene since 2007, and has been the subject of forum complaints by players regarding slow and no payment in the past.

Interventions by the Commission such as this are relatively rare; the last major case was that of MetroPlay-666Bet which went bust after being suspended following player complaints, money laundering and tax fraud investigations (see previous reports).

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