Online sportsbook and casino Stakers has been given an interim licence suspension by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).
Numerous unstated compliance issues were responsible for this, with the ban coming into place from 4th March onwards. As such, stakers.com is now unable to offer its services to UK-based players.
Review undertaken
In an official release on its website, the UKGC confirmed that it is undertaking a review of Stakers’ conduct within the market. As part of this, it said that the decision had been made to “suspend the operating licence” of Stakers “due to a number of compliance issues”.
The commission also added the below paragraph.
“We suspect that Stakers Limited has breached a condition of the licence (section 116(2)(a) of the Act)) and is unsuitable to carry on the licensed activities (section 116(2)(c)(i)) of the Act). We therefore consider it appropriate to suspend the licence with immediate effect pending the conclusion of the review.”
Player withdrawals
For the duration of its suspension, Stakers is banned from accepting payments from players within Great Britain. Adding to the above comments, the commission finished its media release with the below.
“We have instructed the operator to facilitate customers accessing their accounts to withdraw funds and advise customers not to place any bets through the Stakers website.”
Other suspensions
Stakers is one of multiple operators that have been disciplined by the UKGC in recent months. Last week, William Hill-owned Mr. Green was ordered to pay a £3 million fine. This was because of a failure to adhere to responsible gambling practices.
In February, Addison Global also had its licence suspended by the UKGC. This came just days after Gibraltar’s main gambling authority had done likewise. Its MoPlay brand has since been declared insolvent.
