The suspension came into effect on 27 June, with Tipster no longer permitted to carry out gambling under the MGA licence.
However, Tipster will be required to retain and provide access to all registered users to their accounts. It must also refund all monies standing to the credit of customers in line with the applicable law.
The suspension was ordered in line with Regulation 9 (1) (f) of Malta’s Gaming Compliance and Enforcement Regulations. However, the decision may be subject to an appeal.
Insolvency proceedings
Last month, insolvency proceedings at Tipster moved forward with the appointment of Dr Jörg Gollnick as provisional insolvency administrator.
Gollnick is also the provisional insolvency administrator for Tipster Service GmbH, which is part of the Tipster group.
Speaking at the time, Gollnick said that the restructuring hinges on the sports betting operator’s value.
In the weeks that followed, German regulator Gemeinsamen Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL) withdrew Tipster’s sports betting licence.
Tipster held a multi-state licence, but GGL said the operator no longer met the requirements of this licence.
GGL did not disclose the reasons for the withdrawal but did state the decision was made to ensure player protection. It added that was no longer guaranteed with Tipster.
Tipster was also removed from the country’s white list of approved gambling operators.
Alleged Tipster raid
All of this followed a series of raids at locations in Germany in April over an investigation into an unnamed sports betting operator.
Raids took place in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bremen, Berlin, Saxony and Bavaria. This came as the result of a two-and-a-half-year-long investigation into alleged criminal activities.
Alleged criminal activities included offering illegal gambling and forming a criminal organisation. A total of six people were arrested during the raids.
At the time, German tabloid Bild reported that the raids in Cologne took place at Tipster’s headquarters.
German Sports Betting Association (DSWV) released a statement confirming that the operator at the centre of the raids was not a member of the association.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/legal-compliance/legal/malta-suspends-tipster-licence/
