InTouch Games Limited Surrenders Gambling Commission Operating Licence

On September 1^st, the UK Gambling Commission announced that it had suspended the operating licenses of InTouch Games Limited under section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005, but why?

Concerns were raised that activities that were not in accordance with conditions of their licence, may have been carried out contrary to the Act, and as a result a review was conducted and a suspension was imposed. It was suspected that the operator was failing to abide by its licence conditions when it came to money laundering, fair and transparent terms and practices plus it had failed to report on key events.

On this day, accordance with section 118 (2) of the Act, the Commission decided to suspend the operators gambling license (numbers 002091-R-104264-033, 002091-R-104264-033 and 002091-R-104264-033).

What does this mean for customers?

The suspension of InTouch Games Limited who operates Bonus Boss, Cashmo, mFortune Bingo & Casino, Casino2020, Dr Slot, Jammy Monkey, Mr Spin, Pocket Win and Slot Factory, would have had no impact on customers wishing to access their accounts with a view to withdrawing funds, but since the news of the suspension the operator has taken it upon itself to surrender its Gambing Commission operating licence.

A message on the online bingo and casino websites states:

“We regret to inform you that we have taken the difficult decision to surrender our licence with immediate effect and you will no longer be able to deposit and use our services. Please be assured that any outstanding balances on your account will remain protected and available to be withdrawn in accordance with our terms and conditions.

You can find further details of how to withdraw your funds by logging in to your account. If you have any queries relating to our surrender you can direct these to our customer support team by using the Support section of the website”.

No license means no investigations, right?

Wrong! As detailed in the Gambling Commission licensing, compliance and enforcement policy, the Commission still has the power to continue its investigations into InTouch Games Limited and will continue to do so to determine whether any action is needed and it may even involve imposing action to anyone who was a personal management licence-holder at the time of review.

There are strict rules in which a company must adhere to when it comes to giving up their licence, which involves the following:

• Players must be given reasonable notice of the operators decision to close the website. It would not be acceptable to send emails to customers and then close the website two days later. Four weeks would be preferable.
• If you have placed wagers at any/all of the affected gambling websites that will not be settled until after the closure of the business(es), the operator must have a clear policy on how these bets will be handled. The Commission suggests that these bets should still be honoured.
• Every attempt must be made to return customer funds, including funds to customers that have been deemed inactive. Once the website(s) has closed the operator may need to set up a specific web page in order to request refunds.

Can InTouch Games Limited ask for their gambling licence back? As per the Gambling Commission rules the answer is “No, once a licence has been surrendered the only option is to make a new application for a licence. There is no shortcut that would allow a recently surrendered licence to be re-instated.”

Source:

“Suspension of Licences – In Touch Games Limited”, gamblingcommission.gov.uk, September 1, 2023.