Additional information has emerged in light of the recent suspension of King Gaming’s Isle of Man online gambling license.
The Online Gambling Regulation Act (OGRA) licenses of Isle of Man-based King Gaming Limited and Dalmine Ltd were suspended by the jurisdiction’s Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) on the 24th of April pending a regulatory review. Since then, the local police force and the crown dependency’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) have released further statements related to the company.
First, the Isle of Man Constabulary confirmed that it had executed a series of warrants on business premises in the capital city of Douglas on the same day that the license suspension was announced. Properties related to King Gaming in Victoria Road and Bucks Road were raided and police made a total of seven arrests. The office at 33 Bucks Road is widely believed to be the current Isle of Man headquarter of King Gaming, while the company was in the process of constructing a new campus and office complex in Victoria Road.
A police spokesperson said: “In relation to those warrants seven people were arrested and subsequently released on police bail. A number of people found on the premises at Victoria Road were subject of further immigration interviews involving the IOM Immigration Services and those inquiries are ongoing.”
“This activity is part of a wider fraud and money laundering investigation being led by the IOM Constabulary’s Proactive International Money Laundering and Investigation Team in relation to King Gaming Ltd IOM. Enquiries are being conducted in close liaison with partners within the Islands AML/CFT regulatory and intelligence network to fully investigate these matters,” noted the official.
Shortly after the police issued their statement, the island’s FSA also published a media release. In it, the regulator stated that it had directed Douglas-based Soteria Solutions Limited (Soteria) to suspend all designated business undertaken by the firm. Soteria is registered with the FSA under the Designated Businesses Act, the island’s light-touch regulatory framework for fintech and similar new technology companies, to undertake convertible virtual currency activities, more commonly known as cryptocurrency business.
The directive was issued after the FSA became aware of the criminal investigation into King Gaming and due to Soteria Solutions Limited sharing directors and officers with the King Gaming group of companies. Soteria also appears to be registered at the same address as King Gaming in Bucks Road, Douglas.
King Gaming is one of the most prominent eGaming related names on the Isle of Man, and the company’s plans to build a new headquarter, managed by King-affiliated Jade Tree Limited, were hailed as being of real economic benefit by Manx politicians, with the complex being called the “largest single private investment” on the island. Its future is now in doubt as the investigation into the company continues.
