Hi
I did something silly and played at several sites owned by the gametech group not knowing they didn't have a UKGC license. (I'm only just learning about these things).
There are lots of withdrawals out of my bank and I have since found out that they shouldn't have let me play and if I had won the likelihood of them paying out is very slim.
I wrote to the asking them to refund my deposits and got this response from one of them. Can anyone give me any advice on how to respond to them please. I'd be very grateful.
My email
Hi
I have been playing at the game tech group but it has come to my attention that they are legally not entitled to take my money in the uk as they do not have a UKGC licence and thus are breaking Uk law by accepting my play. The UKGC states it is illegal to transact with, or a advertise to consumers in great Britain without a licence. They are operating under master licence num
ber 1668/JAZ from caracco though.
I am getting no response from any of the casinos I have played at. So I am now reporting them to the Caracco licencing authority.
I am asking for all deposits to be refunded as it was illegal to take my money in the first place. These are in excess of £1500.
I will also be following this up with the UKGC, the financial ombudsmen for the UK, the police actionline against UK fraud and tax evasion and my payment provider.
Their response
Thank you for your email.
Your question about the legality of your playing at our casino has been referred to me.
It is a serious question and I will try to answer you as best I can. Please understand that I am not giving you legal advice. As our Terms and Conditions state: (2.2) “It is your responsibility to know whether the registration or use of an Account is allowed within your jurisdiction.”
Having said that let me get to the gist of the matter.
In November of 2014 your government passed a law obligating all off shore online casinos, even those not located at all in the UK, to acquire a UK license if they wish to serve UK players.
The obvious difficulty with this is: how can UK law control the actions of others who are not UK citizens or located in the UK? The answer is this: There is a principle in international law that says that a country can legislate to anyone having an impact within that country’s borders. However, the application of this principle is still largely undetermined.
The effect of the UK law outside the borders of the UK has primarily been to cause highly regarded casinos in white label licensing jurisdictions to acquire licenses that offer players no more protection than they had before, since such casinos were above reproach anyway. Casinos with little connection to the UK continue unhindered. Many around the world consider the UK to be unenforceable, disproportional and possibly in violation of international laws governing free trade.
To make matters even more obscure, the UK has not -- so far as I am aware-- limited the freedom of UK players to gamble wherever they like. It is quite understandable that many licensing authorities have taken a “wait and see” attitude. Our licensing authority (Curacao Gaming Commission) has not required us to bar UK players out of our establishments
By the law of your country, you are allowed to play wherever you like. By the law of our country we are allowed to let you play. When you agree to the Terms and Conditions, you are entering in to an agreement governed by the laws of Curacao. No-one can deny the validity of this agreement.
Your account at Casino Blu was closed on 26/11/17 but we will not be able to refund any of your deposits as they have been used on our games and it is legal for you to play at Casino Blu.
Kind Regards,
Morgan Richards
VIP Manager
Casino BLU
I did something silly and played at several sites owned by the gametech group not knowing they didn't have a UKGC license. (I'm only just learning about these things).
There are lots of withdrawals out of my bank and I have since found out that they shouldn't have let me play and if I had won the likelihood of them paying out is very slim.
I wrote to the asking them to refund my deposits and got this response from one of them. Can anyone give me any advice on how to respond to them please. I'd be very grateful.
My email
Hi
I have been playing at the game tech group but it has come to my attention that they are legally not entitled to take my money in the uk as they do not have a UKGC licence and thus are breaking Uk law by accepting my play. The UKGC states it is illegal to transact with, or a advertise to consumers in great Britain without a licence. They are operating under master licence num
ber 1668/JAZ from caracco though.
I am getting no response from any of the casinos I have played at. So I am now reporting them to the Caracco licencing authority.
I am asking for all deposits to be refunded as it was illegal to take my money in the first place. These are in excess of £1500.
I will also be following this up with the UKGC, the financial ombudsmen for the UK, the police actionline against UK fraud and tax evasion and my payment provider.
Their response
Thank you for your email.
Your question about the legality of your playing at our casino has been referred to me.
It is a serious question and I will try to answer you as best I can. Please understand that I am not giving you legal advice. As our Terms and Conditions state: (2.2) “It is your responsibility to know whether the registration or use of an Account is allowed within your jurisdiction.”
Having said that let me get to the gist of the matter.
In November of 2014 your government passed a law obligating all off shore online casinos, even those not located at all in the UK, to acquire a UK license if they wish to serve UK players.
The obvious difficulty with this is: how can UK law control the actions of others who are not UK citizens or located in the UK? The answer is this: There is a principle in international law that says that a country can legislate to anyone having an impact within that country’s borders. However, the application of this principle is still largely undetermined.
The effect of the UK law outside the borders of the UK has primarily been to cause highly regarded casinos in white label licensing jurisdictions to acquire licenses that offer players no more protection than they had before, since such casinos were above reproach anyway. Casinos with little connection to the UK continue unhindered. Many around the world consider the UK to be unenforceable, disproportional and possibly in violation of international laws governing free trade.
To make matters even more obscure, the UK has not -- so far as I am aware-- limited the freedom of UK players to gamble wherever they like. It is quite understandable that many licensing authorities have taken a “wait and see” attitude. Our licensing authority (Curacao Gaming Commission) has not required us to bar UK players out of our establishments
By the law of your country, you are allowed to play wherever you like. By the law of our country we are allowed to let you play. When you agree to the Terms and Conditions, you are entering in to an agreement governed by the laws of Curacao. No-one can deny the validity of this agreement.
Your account at Casino Blu was closed on 26/11/17 but we will not be able to refund any of your deposits as they have been used on our games and it is legal for you to play at Casino Blu.
Kind Regards,
Morgan Richards
VIP Manager
Casino BLU