Malta Gaming Authority cancels Genesis Global's authorization; orders immediate halt to operations

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has canceled the authorization awarded to Genesis Global Limited. The cancellation of the license, outlined in order MGA/CRP/314/2015, has become effective as of January 11, 2024.

“This [cancelation] is being done in terms of regulation 10 (1) (a) with direct application of reg. 9 (1) (c), (d), (f), (i), (l) and (m) and regulation 10 (1) (b) of the Gaming Compliance and Enforcement Regulations (S.L. 583.06) (the ‘Regulations’),” MGA said in a statement.

Genesis managed various websites under its license, including Vegasoo.com, Sloty.com, Casinojoy.com, Spinit.com, and Genesiscasino.com.

MGA initially suspended Genesis’ license in January last year after the company filed for insolvency. It employed some 200 people in Malta, but had started shedding workers early last year, laying off between 30 and 40 people after it became evident that it was running into the ground, and laid off around 140 remaining employees around Christmas.

Earlier in 2022, the company was slapped with a £3.8 million fine by the UK Gambling Commission after a two-year investigation identified several breaches in anti-money laundering and social responsibility regulations that occurred in 2020.

MGA also canceled authorizations awarded to Tipin Limited and SFJL Holding in 2023.

In its order, MGA directed the Genesis Global Limited to:

• Settle all outstanding fees due to the Authority within seven working days from the effective date.
• Submit to the Authority a transaction report extracted from their back-end system together with the supporting bank statements, attesting that all player funds have been duly remitted to the registered players, within seven working days.
• Remove, with immediate effect, any reference to the Authority and the authorizations in accordance with Article 51 of the Gaming Act

MGA said it is actively collaborating with the appointed liquidator, providing necessary assistance in the effort to remit all player funds under the MGA Licence.