Lockdown may be easing in the UK but online gambling operator Genesis Global are headed in the opposite direction after receiving an interim suspension to their UK gambling license.
The news broke a few days ago and the suspension is effective immediately, so as of 20th July all of Genesis’ brands are no longer legally allowed to offer gambling services to the UK market.
Here is what we know so far.
Why the Suspension?
Details on the company’s exact transgressions are still pretty slim on the ground, but in their press release the UKGC said:
“We suspect that Genesis Global Limited has breached a condition of the licence and is unsuitable to carry on the licensed activities of the Act.”
Section 116(2)(a) of the Act and Section 116(2)(c)(i) have been mentioned as the areas of the Act that have been breached, but no further detail was given.
The area of the Act in question is not much help either, it simply states:
“The Commission may review any matter connected with the provision of facilities for gambling as authorised by an operating licence if the Commission has reason to suspect that activities may have been carried on in purported reliance on the licence but not in accordance with a condition of the licence”.
While the suspension is effective immediately no end date has been given. The commission is reviewing the situation and the suspension will remain in place until that review has a conclusion.
Which Brands Are Affected?
All of them.
It’s a full house shut down for Genesis which is probably exactly the opposite of what they need after 4 months worth of a global pandemic, but this will hopefully serve as an industry wide message that the UKGC is not messing around.
Players using the following brands will be affected:
- www.casoola.com
- www.casinoplanet.com
- www.kassu.com
- www.casinocruise.com
- www.casinogods.com
- www.casinojoy.com
- www.genesiscasino.com
- www.pelaa.com
- www.sloty.com
- www.spela.com
- www.spinit.com
- www.vegashero.com
If you play at one of these casinos then you should find your access restricted until further notice.
There is probably no need to panic but if you have money resting in your account and are able to, then my advice would be to withdraw it. Indeed, this was the instruction given to Genesis from the UKGC:
“to facilitate customers accessing their accounts to withdraw funds and advise customers not to place any bets through the above websites.”
Even if this all blows over relatively quickly, your money is no good sitting in an online casino account that you can’t use, right?