The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has cancelled MKC Limited’s licence after ruling that it breached a number of regulations.
Malta-based MKC had been operating the Betworld247 sports betting and casino site under its B2C gaming service licence. However, the regulatory decision means that it is no longer authorised to offer online gambling via this licence.
Setting out its decision, the MGA said MKC breached regulations 9(1)(c), (d), (i), (l) and 10(1)(a) of the Gaming Compliance and Enforcement Regulations.
Specific breaches included not making required licensing payments to the MGA and failure to meet other financial commitments related to its operations.
The regulator also flagged how MKC failed to meet commitments to customers in a timely manner but did not go into further detail.
“One of the grounds for suspension envisaged in regulation 9 arises and the Authority, in its sole discretion, determines that cancellation of the authorisation is the most appropriate measure,” the MGA said.
“[MKC] is thus no longer authorised to carry out any gaming operations and shall remove, with immediate effect, any reference to the authority and authorisation.”
Dutch cease and desist order
The licence cancellation comes after MKC was handed a cease and desist order by Dutch regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) in September last year.
KSA authorised the penalty order following an investigation in which the site was shown to be available to Dutch consumers without the operator holding licences. KSA warned if MKC did not cease offering games of chance, it could face a penalty of €28,000 per week, up to a maximum of €84,000.
The order came after a KSA supervisor accessed the site on several occasions. The individual was able to create an account, make a deposit and gamble, with no technical measures to block Dutch consumers.
A player could set their location to Netherlands, with the site including a Dutch language option, but made no reference to Dutch addiction care specialists.
For the period from June 2021 to May 2022, the site drew 376,595 unique visits from Dutch consumers.
