Bonobet Ltd, the owner and operator of online bookmaker BetAfterBet.com, has been investigated by the Lotteries and Gaming Authority after a number of players complained to the regulator about slow payments, the LGA said yesterday.
The company, which holds two LGA licences, was registered in Malta in July last year. It has a head office in Valletta and a mailing address in Sliema, but does not employ staff in Malta. Only a key official is based here.
An online gambling newswire has branded BetAfterBet a "scam bookmaker" and a watchdog portal has warned punters against using it, claiming it owed players €24,000.
"As is normal procedure to investigate player complaints, the LGA initiated investigations on Bonobet Ltd to ascertain the nature of such player complaints, whereby the initial findings of the investigations confirmed that Bonobet Ltd encountered payment difficulties," the LGA told The Times Business.
"Bonobet Ltd has assured that the payment process of players has already been initiated and that the process shall be concluded within the next few weeks."
The LGA said it would nonetheless be monitoring the payments process of players closely as it continues to keep the operation of Bonobet Ltd under strict scrutiny "without prejudice to any further action that the Lotteries and Gaming Authority may deem necessary."
BetAfterBet.com has raised concern across the Internet for several weeks. The website offers no phone number for customer support but claims it can be reached via live chat and e-mail.
Over the past few days, the "live" chat has been offline during office hours and an e-mail sent by The Times Business went unanswered. Sportsbookreview.com has placed BetAfterBet on its "Avoid List" and downgraded its rating for the gaming site from D+ to D last month, placing it in the bracket for "poor" sportsbooks with some risk to players' funds and poor customer service.
The site rates 955 sportsbooks.
A week ago, Sportsbookreview said BetAfterBet's slowpay reports continued to flood its mailbox.
"As of today, BetAfterBet owes €23,924.60 to 14 players. BetAfterBet has blamed delays on having to manually process payments requested via their software, and on the number of payments which have been requested," Sportsbookreview said last Thursday.
It quoted BetAfterBet as saying: "Please do rest assured that your money is safe and the delay of the payout has not in any way been linked to financial difficulties of the company."
A day earlier, theonlinewire. com carried an article titled "BetAfterBet scam drags Malta's Gaming Authority's credibility to the ground". It quoted players complaining payments had not been settled and even urged disgruntled punters to contact the LGA by publishing the regulator's telephone numbers and e-mail address.
"It is simply unacceptable in this day and age that governmental licensing bodies such as the Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta look elsewhere while those they are supposed to protect become prey to unscrupulous and fraudulent operators," the article, signed by Roberto Castiglioni, said.
Around 330 remote gaming companies are registered in Malta, estimated to constitute 10 per cent of the global industry. An LGA spokesperson said the regulator has withdrawn tens of licences and monitors operations within the industry closely, particularly following complaints made to its Player Support unit.