The operating licence of social betting company Bodugi has been suspended by the UK Gambling Commission. 

This decision is a result of a number of concerns related mainly to withdrawing funds by customers and the lack of response to the Commission’s requests. The Commission will now undertake a review of the company.

The suspension is an interim and precautionary measure and will be kept under consideration during the review. 

The suspension has been commenced under section 118 of the Gambling Act 2005 and the review under section 166 of the Act. 

The UK Gambling Commission has launched an online application service for operators applying for a remote licence or for a non-remote licence alongside a remote licence.

Aimed at improving the service provided by the Commission, it allows applicants to skip questions that are not applicable in order to navigate through the application in a way that will reflect their business model and individual circumstances. Additionally, the option to upload information and supporting documentation reduces delivery delays and the risk of original documents being lost in the post. 

Included in the online application is the Multi-Jurisdictional Business Form (MJBF) developed by the International Association of Gaming Regulators.  It standardizes the general information, track record and compliance records that have to be provided as part of the application for an operating licence.

While the MJBF requires more information than in the past, it will over time reduce costs for the Commission which will help in decreasing regulatory costs for operators. 

“This further development of online services for operators builds on the introduction of eServices in 2013. It’s always been our aim to enable licence applicants to make applications online and this is the first step towards that,” said Dawn Best, Licensing Manager at the Gambling Commission. 

The new system is only available to those who are applying for a remote licence or for remote and non-remote licences at the same time (i.e. not those applying only for a non-remote licence), and who are not already licensed by the Commission. 

UK Gambling Commission has reached an agreement with Visa, MasterCard and PayPal. The financial services providers will be blocking payment transactions with unlicensed gambling websites when new laws are introduced. 

The agreement has been reached even though member of the House rejected an amendment to the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Bill that would allow the Gambling Commission to block financial transactions between unlicensed gambling sites and UK citizens. Under the agreement, the financial service providers will block such transactions when the new law comes into force at the end of the year. 

The third reading for the Gambling Bill is scheduled for March 18th.