- Joined
- May 22, 2012
UKGC issues Metro Play update as 666Bet halts payments
1 June 2015
Metro Play has moved to allay fears over its repayment process to customers by confirming to the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) it plans to make additional funds available in order to continue distributing money to players.
As reported by iGaming Business, the Metro Play and 666Bet brands in March had their licence suspended by the UKGC in a move that left customers unable to access their accounts and withdraw funds.
Despite 666Bet having appointed payment processor Skrill to aid the withdrawal process, many customers continued to report problems regarding their accounts while others hit out at the lack of correspondence with the company.
Last month, the UKGC said in a statement it believed 666Bet had returned funds to a “significant number” of customers who had been out of pocket for over a month.
However, the UK regulator has now said in a new statement that the repayment process has seemingly been halted due to a lack of funds.
The UKGC said Metro Play’s chairman had been in touch to inform the body that he plans to make additional funds available to enable payments to customer, but players will no longer be able to access their accounts and make withdrawals via the websites.
Metro Play has also issued a statement in which it said: “We will be publishing a contact email on both sites from June 1 for customers to contact us with queries.
“We intend to contact those customers who have not yet had their withdrawal processed and offer an alternative payment method to Skrill (most likely a bank transfer).
“We will contact the customers as soon as the support email address becomes available which should be over the weekend and then process the withdrawals manually when the customers provide us with the relevant information.
“The Metro Play site now has a static page and all pending withdrawals have been processed.”
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So this looks like they'll never be coming back and any further withdrawals will be via the uncertain format of e-mail. At least it's not an F-U that players got from Purple Lounge's scam and I'm sure the fact that most players have allegedly been paid (eventually!) will be viewed by the UKGC as a glowing endorsement of their regime, player protection and efficacy.
What the UKGC needs to learn from this is how to speed things up for players owed, ensure a prompt and open line of communication for the said creditor-players and keep us all updated more frequently.
Things are better maybe since the PL scam, but still a mile from perfect.