Tips Metroplay / 666BET license suspended

lord flashheart

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Metroplay also operating as 666BET has license suspended by UKGC. (article copied from UKGC website):


Interim suspension of operating licence - Metro Play Limited trading as www.metroplay.com and www.666bet.com

Posted on 20 March 2015
The Gambling Commission has commenced a review under section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005 (the Act) and, under section 118 of the Act, has decided to suspend Operating Licence No 000-039112-R-319435-001 (Metro Play Limited) while that review takes place.*
The Commission has decided to commence a review because it suspects that Metro Play Limited (the Licensee) is unsuitable to carry on the licensed activities (section 120(1)(d) of the Act) and considers it appropriate to suspend the licence with immediate effect pending the conclusion of the review.*
In accordance with section 118(4)(c) of the Act the Licensee is authorised to settle any outstanding winning bets that it has accepted in reliance on the above operating licence and return any outstanding balances to customers.
The suspension is an interim measure, the need for which will be kept under consideration whilst the review takes place
 
I think they got hammered over Cheltenham as they had some very generous offers on the go. Unfortunately I got sucked in but only because there was no complaints lurking around since metroplay took them over from novibet. Luckily my balance is less than £100, but the UKGC state balances and winning wagers etc. Will be honoured - obviously I'll wait until I see it.

Did get suspicious when I was asked to verify my account after it was already verified previously.
 
Goodness that's a bit of a shock! I've been using Metroplay for a few months and was going to take the 50% weekend bonus today as usual. I thought they were sound now, although I saw they'd had some problems in the past when I did my research on them on this site before i joined up. Never had a problem getting paid. I'm surprised because they're the same company that does the free morning paper across the UK (I think) and hence appear to be quite a big concern.

The site is indeed "down for maintenance" apparently for "a few hours"

Chris
 
666BET bought metroplay from the media company which owns the metro papers last year (can't remember the media company name)

According to one guy on twitter, the owner / CEO has been arrested for fraud and believes it 666bet / metroplay "closure" has something to do with this

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666bet have their ads fronted by Harry Redknapp don't they?

He just can't get away from tax evasion cases, can he? Maybe he can give them some sound legal advice and claim it's the dogs money?
 
Well I suppose we will have to wait until the story unfolds to really understand what to make of this. But it does not bode well for players who may have funds locked in this casino. Will be interesting now how the UKGC handle this. And will give us an indicator as to how effective they are at protection for players / funds and such like. They must have very good reason for yanking the license at the moment.
 
"In accordance with section 118(4)(c) of the Act the Licensee is authorised to settle any outstanding winning bets that it has accepted in reliance on the above operating licence and return any outstanding balances to customers."

Fingers crossed that happens.
 
"In accordance with section 118(4)(c) of the Act the Licensee is authorised to settle any outstanding winning bets that it has accepted in reliance on the above operating licence and return any outstanding balances to customers."

Fingers crossed that happens.

Pretty similar to Purple Lounge's conditions under their Maltese license, and we all saw where the money went there...

Will the UKGC be shown to have teeth or be another Paper Tiger......?
 
Good. I think its show its teeth by suspending the licence with immediate effect. The funds will be ring fenced in a suspense account and frozen, so everyone should get their money. Criminal charges will mean that all Metro's merchant providers wont touch them with a bargepole now.

Dodgy casino operators your days are truly numbered. Had they had a maltese licence then this could be a very differant story for the British players with outstanding funds.
 
Now that I think about it... they phoned me just the other day offering me free bets. Just deposit, place a bet, and if I lose... I can have a free bet.

That doesn't sound free to me :cool:
 
Metroplay also operating as 666BET has license suspended by UKGC. (article copied from UKGC website):


Interim suspension of operating licence - Metro Play Limited trading as www.metroplay.com and www.666bet.com

Posted on 20 March 2015
The Gambling Commission has commenced a review under section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005 (the Act) and, under section 118 of the Act, has decided to suspend Operating Licence No 000-039112-R-319435-001 (Metro Play Limited) while that review takes place.*
The Commission has decided to commence a review because it suspects that Metro Play Limited (the Licensee) is unsuitable to carry on the licensed activities (section 120(1)(d) of the Act) and considers it appropriate to suspend the licence with immediate effect pending the conclusion of the review.*
In accordance with section 118(4)(c) of the Act the Licensee is authorised to settle any outstanding winning bets that it has accepted in reliance on the above operating licence and return any outstanding balances to customers.The suspension is an interim measure, the need for which will be kept under consideration whilst the review takes place

Of course that's assuming that the CEO facing criminal investigation has actually followed the licensing conditions and ring-fenced sufficient funds to pay players in the first place......

The fact remains that unless funds are held in some kind of Escrow arrangement there's no guarantee the UKGC conditions will be met.

I think this is the crux of the matter - should they settle ALL outstanding balances/bets then they would be good to go with their license again with new owners/executives and resume operations.

I think the intent of the UKGC suspension is to measure their solvency and thus past adherence to the rules while under this cloud.
 
Does the UKGC have the power to remove a casino from the UK cyber world?

In other words, while suspended, will the casino still have a visible presence to British players or can the UKGC effectively close them down?
 
Does the UKGC have the power to remove a casino from the UK cyber world?

In other words, while suspended, will the casino still have a visible presence to British players or can the UKGC effectively close them down?

Yes, I believe the casino rejects UK IP's from registering or depositing if they have no UK license or if it's revoked but you can still see the webpage. They will be in breach of our laws otherwise.

In this case the site hasn't exactly told the truth but:

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.GIF


It doesn't advise on non-withdrawn balances held though....
 
Yes, I believe the casino rejects UK IP's from registering or depositing if they have no UK license or if it's revoked but you can still see the webpage. They will be in breach of our laws otherwise.

In this case the site hasn't exactly told the truth but:

View attachment 53644


It doesn't advise on non-withdrawn balances held though....

To me, that will define if the new regulators really have teeth. If they can yank a formerly licensed casino that's a big deal.
 
Good. I think its show its teeth by suspending the licence with immediate effect. The funds will be ring fenced in a suspense account and frozen, so everyone should get their money. Criminal charges will mean that all Metro's merchant providers wont touch them with a bargepole now.

Dodgy casino operators your days are truly numbered. Had they had a maltese licence then this could be a very differant story for the British players with outstanding funds.

This is totally true, in Malta they would have continued to operate in the vain hope that everyone would lose all their money back. I really hope the GC set an example to the world of how (online) gambling should be controlled. I'll be watching with interest.
 
Well my balance, although small compared to some people are going to have, was conveniently reversed the day this happened! Received an email in the morning then discovered this! Twitter + email support appear to have disappeared as well. their twitter account was pretty responsive and not even getting the "your support ticket has been received" auto reply when emailing.

Tempted to do a charge back as it would recover half the balance, although I know it would have complications down the line. I'll see what happens in the next few weeks before deciding on that though.
 
Have only played there a couple of times and managed a wdw as well, It was only because of the connection with the free newspaper that gets dished out on the underground that I gave it a go.......

Was thinking of playing there again this evening until I saw this.......:(
 
Have only played there a couple of times and managed a wdw as well, It was only because of the connection with the free newspaper that gets dished out on the underground that I gave it a go.......

Was thinking of playing there again this evening until I saw this.......:(

I used 666BET ages ago and stopped because of the payout issues when they were on the novibet platform. After they migrated and bought metroplay these complaints disappeared. Had some decent offers on Cheltenham, that combined with the lack of complaints tempted me back.

Hopefully the BBC article I posted is related to this and they have been caught while still in possession of funds. At least some funds maybe recovered then. We shall see what happens
 
Well my balance, although small compared to some people are going to have, was conveniently reversed the day this happened! Received an email in the morning then discovered this! Twitter + email support appear to have disappeared as well. their twitter account was pretty responsive and not even getting the "your support ticket has been received" auto reply when emailing.

Tempted to do a charge back as it would recover half the balance, although I know it would have complications down the line. I'll see what happens in the next few weeks before deciding on that though.

Hmmm. Now that is interesting that they have reversed that. Especially given that the image posted by dunover clearly states that all pending transactions will be honoured. Maybe they reckon this will get them out of paying and there is a loophole? Who knows. This is certainly going to be interesting and a real test for the UKGC. Sorry to hear about your money though. Played there on and off years ago but not anymore these days. Sucks for those involved though. I'd imagine a lot of Metro Play's customers came from the paper relationship and adverts etc. It's where I heard of then myself. Can't say it'll do that particular papers image much good.
 
The media group sold the site to 666BET sometime last year, so as far as I know they have nothing to do with them as a company, although still uses the logo so maybe they were being paid image rights or had permission to keep it. Maybe Bryan or max know more on that.

My withdrawal was pending for a week, but I harassed them after 3 days and was told my account was unverified - which was of course a lie as I withdrew around £400 last summer after the world cup.

Obviously I was a bit annoyed as it took them 5 days from my initial withdrawal request to tell me my account wasn't verified. I emailed 3 times and contacted them on twitter. I sent them some documents on Wednesday, and needed a more up to date bank statement so went to my bank on Friday, got them to print a statement for me and stamp / sign it for me. Sent this through, then got an email later on saying your payment has been reversed!!!!!

Not looking good from what has happened so far.
 
666BET

I realize that to many people, 666 is simply another number. When I see this number I cannot help but think of its association evil and apocalyptic doom. I know countless others also make this association.

It is a strange choice of a name for a casino in my view. If I were able to play there there is no way in hell I would ever play at a casino with this name with so many others to choose from.

Just my thoughts and my opinion.
 
I realize that to many people, 666 is simply another number. When I see this number I cannot help but think of its association evil and apocalyptic doom. I know countless others also make this association.

It is a strange choice of a name for a casino in my view. If I were able to play there there is no way in hell I would ever play at a casino with this name with so many others to choose from.

Just my thoughts and my opinion.

I believe it's also the number that all the numbers on a roulette wheel add up to...:eek2:
 

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