Casinodep.com, an Igaming website operated by Malta-licensed Winzon Group is the latest to be included in the Belgian Gaming Commission’s blacklist.
The blacklist, updated on Wednesday, lists online betting and gaming operators in Belgium, operating without the relevant licences issued by the commission.
Winzon Group Ltd is owned by Latvian nationals Dmitrijs Kuznecovs and Maksims Terehovics. Lawyer David Meli is the company director, according to the Malta Business Registry. The company owns some 23 website addresses, Malta Gaming Authority documents show.
Should the listed websites continue to operate within Belgium, they could be subject to fines of between €100 and €100,000, while players making use of such unlicensed websites could also face criminal charges and fines of between €26 to €25,000, the commission’s website warns.
The commission’s list has included other websites hailing from Malta-licensed companies throughout the past year. Three of the four gambling sites most recently added to the Belgian Gaming Commission’s blacklist of unlicensed online gambling websites – Locowin.com, Kajot-casino.com and Westcasino.com – are Malta-licensed companies.
The website’s blacklisting is just the latest in wrongdoings linked to Malta’s Igaming industry – which has been embroiled in controversial scandals over the years.
In February, The Shift reported that Malta-based Genesis Global Ltd was fined £3.8 million (€4.5 million) following a two-year investigation that identified several breaches in anti-money laundering and social responsibility regulations that occurred in 2020.
Last August, another gaming company, Bet90 Sports, was highlighted as potentially being linked to the illegal proceeds of one of the biggest-ever online financial scams.
The Belgian Gaming Commission is the official regulator of Belgium’s gaming sector.
Right of Reply received from Winzon Group:
It is not factually correct that websites owned by Winzon Group Ltd, specifically Casinodep.com, provide gaming services to players located in Belgium. Winzon Group Ltd does not operate in Belgium. This fact can be verified from the websites themselves, which do not allow persons located in Belgium to register as players.
Upon the happening of the event referred to in the article published by The Shift, Winzon Group Ltd immediately provided the Malta Gaming Authority with full information confirming the statement above. Winzon Group Ltd is cooperating fully with the Malta Gaming Authority.