Amaya and Rational Receive UK Commission’s Approval
Amaya and Rational Receive UK Commission’s Approval to Carry on with UK-Facing Operations
Canadian iGaming company, the Amaya Gaming Group, announced last Friday that its business-to-business (B2B)online enterprise, including that of its newly-acquired subsidiary The Rational Entertainment Group, have received the UK Gambling Commission’s (UKGC) approval for a continuance licence. The approval denotes that Rational’s online poker websites, PokerStars and Full Tilt, both previously offering its poker games and services by virtue of the licence granted by white list gaming jurisdiction Isle of Man, likewise received approval to carry on with their business of offering and providing remotely-served poker games and services to UK-based poker players.
Under UK’s new Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014, all offshore-licenced remote gambling operators must have an approved continuance licence during the transition period, which officially commenced last November 01. The objective of which, is to ensure the smooth implementation of the new Gambling Act on December 2014. The continuance licence will cease to have effect once the UKGC finally determines if the holding company and/or the subsidiary applying for a UK gambling licence is compliant with the new licencing conditions and the code of practices under the new gambling laws. If otherwise, the continuance licence will cease to have effect upon its surrender, expiration, suspension, revocation, and forfeiture, at the instance of The Commission.
Under the new gambling regime, remote online operators licenced by regulatory gaming bodies of Alderney, Antigua, Gibraltar and the Isle of Man no longer enjoy the privilege of offering online gambling products and services, and of transacting wagering deals in UK as a “white list” approved brand. In addition, offshore-licenced remote gaming operators applying for a continuance licence, and receiving more than three (3) percent of realized revenue from operating in grey market areas, must submit a written explanation about their persistence in carrying on with their online gambling business in unregulated markets.
In view of those conditions, Rational Entertainment’s PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker had asked registered players originating from Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Nigeria, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to close their respective accounts, as their virtual poker rooms and online services will no longer be offered in the aforementioned jurisdictions.
However, unlike other prominent UK online gambling facility operators like Betfred, EuroPartners, Ladbrokes and Matchbook that withdrew their betting products and gaming offers from the Canadian online gambling market early on, the PokerStars and Full Tilt poker brands have not made similar announcements. Rational Entertainment’s new parent company, the Amaya Gaming Group, a homegrown Canadian company, is reportedly in talks with the government-owned Loto Quebec to include PokerStars and Full Tilt brands in the lottery corporation’s online offerings. After all, the Toronto-based Amaya has an existing B2B gaming content deal for Loto Quebec’s regulated online gambling site Espace-Jeux.com.
One of the strengths possessed by Rational Entertainment’s poker brands is the use of independent trust accounts, which the online poker company had introduced in the Isle of Man as a voluntary measure for protecting players’ funds. Protection of funds held by remote betting operators in behalf of customers is a key element included in the UK Gambling Commission’s rating system, as a means of lowering the risks faced by customers in the event that an online gambling facility operator becomes insolvent or bankrupt. Under the new licencing conditions and code of practices, the Commission will require all operators of remote betting and real money gaming facilities to disclose clearly, how the site operator protects their players’ funds.
