On the seventh of July 2022, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission confirmed that it had suspended the gambling licence of Bet-at-home Internet Limited. It did so as a review was carried out, with the UKGC citing Section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005. The German operator may have been operating in a manner that is contrary to the conditions of the gambling licence issued to it, specifically with regards to anti-money laundering and social responsibilities. They were, the Gambling Commission said, ‘key considerations’ in its decision to suspend the company’s licence.
Though Bet-at-home is based in Germany and headquartered in Düsseldorf, the company has offices in both Malta and Gibraltar. At home, the company has suffered as a result of the Fourth Interstate Gambling Treaty that has been introduced in Germany, so the move by the Gambling Commission to suspend its licence for its UK-based operations is merely adding to its woes.
It is the first major regulatory move by the UKGC since it fined Camelot £3.15 million for errors on its mobile phone app that did things such as tell people that their winning ticket was a losing one if they used the QR scanner.
Who Are Bet-At-Home?
Founded in Austria in 1999, Bet-at-home was the brainchild of Jochen Dickinger and Franz Ömer. The business initially focussed its work on online sports betting alone, with an online casino not launching until 2005. The following year a poker platform was launched and in 2008 the company broadened its appeal even further by launching a new casino. Always looking to grow as much as possible, Bet-at-home launched a Games platform in 2009 and In-Play betting the same year. In May of 2004, the company became a joint-stock corporation.
In the years that followed, Bet-at-home went from strength to strength, taking on more capital and seeing changes arrive at the corporate level. As part of this there were numerous re-launches of the website, ensuring that it appeared as modern and up-to-date as possible and offering numerous different products to their customers. That included launching in different countries, of which the United Kingdom was one in 2014. The sportsbook remains the company’s main focus, but the likes of casino and poker were added over the years and have become almost equally as important.
What Went Wrong
One of the Gambling Commission’s biggest focuses is on ensuring that companies operate in a manner that ensures that people are safe when they’re placing bets. As a result, they look to clamp down on any company that is not doing its utmost to offer responsible gaming measures where possible. The UKGC’s announcement about the suspension of Bet-at-home Internet Limited’s licence included specific reference to the company carrying out activities that may have been ‘contrary to the Act’ and therefore ‘not in accordance with conditions of the licence’, hence choosing to suspend it.
Not only did the Gambling Commission have concerns about the company not acting to ensure that responsible gaming was taking place for its customers, it also pointed to the possibility of money laundering being carried out by Bet-at-home customers. This might just have been because the company failed to ask for someone’s details properly or perhaps even neglected to find out where funds came from when people were placing large bets, but any concerns about money laundering are taken extremely seriously by the UKGC and if Bet-at-home fell foul of them then it’s not surprising the regulated acted.
What Happens Next
It is possible that the Gambling Commission’s investigation into Bet-at-home will reveal no major wrongdoing. It is also not beyond the realms of the possible that the company is able to explain away any and all issues that the regulating body has with it in a manner that suffices the UKGC’s concerns. Regardless, the regulator has made clear to the operator that it expects it to be keeping its customers fully informed about any developments and treating its customers fairly. The consequence of this is that its websites will all be operational for the time being.
Whilst we say operational, you won’t be able to place any bets or deposit any funds with them at the moment. What you will be able to do is access your account and withdraw funds, which is very much worth considering if you’ve got money lodged with them at this time. If the UKGC finds that Bet-at-home have been operating in a manner that is far beyond what is deemed acceptable for a gambling operating working in the UK, it is possible that they will permanently revoke its licence. Though you should still be able to get any funds out if this happens, doing it now will stop any problems later on.
Bet-At-Home Released A Statement
As you might imagine, Bet-at-home didn’t bury its head over the situation. Instead, the company put a statement on its website that reads as follows:
“Dear players, our operations in the UK have been suspended by the UK Gambling Commission until further notice. You are not able to register, bet, play or deposit with us at the moment. Please rest assured that you can withdraw your funds at any time and pending winnings will be credited to your account. Our customer service is at your disposal for any support or clarification you may need… We apologise for any inconvenience.”
With Bet-at-home suffering a 54% revenue decline during the first quarter of 2022, this is not something that will be helping the company as it looks to recover its financial losses suffered during the recent health crisis. Having had to suspend casino operations in Austria in October of 2021, the business has suffered some setbacks of late. Nevertheless, Chief Executive Officer Marco Falchetto said,
“Despite all the challenges of the past financial year, I am optimistic about the future and am convinced that bet-at-home is on the right track with the measures and initiatives it has taken.”