The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has announced that it has withdrawn Smart Operations’ B2C gaming licence after the company committed a breach of Malta’s gaming regulations.
Breached Malta’s gaming regulations
The MGA made the announcement on Monday, but the cancellation took effect on April 30, 2021.
According to a statement from the MGA, Smart Operations was found guilty of breaching regulation 9(1) of the Gaming Compliance and Enforcement Regulations.
According to the regulator, Smart Operations notably failed to discharge financial commitments to the Authority and failed to pay all amounts due in an appropriate timeframe.
The MGA was able to cancel Smart Operations’ licence under regulation 10, which allows cancellation if regulation 9 is violated.
Consequences
As part of its license, Smart Operations was able to offer fixed-odds betting and casino games but as a result of losing its license, the firm can no longer offer any games, accept deposits, or register new accounts.
However, Smart Operations is still required to retain and provide all registered players with access to their accounts and must issue refunds to all account holders.
Better be compliant
The Malta Gaming Authority is one of the most respected gambling regulators in Europe and is fully committed to make sure that licensees are fully compliant with the necessary rules and regulations, or else the operators will face the consequences.
In only two years, the authority revoked seven licences in the first half of 2020 and acted on a total of 18 operator licences in the first six months of 2019 in its efforts to clamp down on money laundering and terrorist financing.
You are warned – operators, affiliates, and affiliate managers – you better be compliant with the MGA’s legislation and regulations.
