Stricken gambling operator MoPlay seeking to safeguard customer balances

Customers unable to withdraw their funds from stricken online gambling operator MoPlay have been given some hope that they may yet receive their money.

Last month Gibraltar's Gambling Licensing Authority suspended the licence of MoPlay's parent company Addison Global as it was unable to honour its liabilities. The UK Gambling Commission followed suit.

The company subsequently said it was unable to process withdrawals "due to financial difficulties", raising fears among those customers who had not withdrawn their cash that it was lost as MoPlay's terms and conditions stated customer funds were not protected in the event of insolvency.

In an update on the MoPlay website, the operator said Addison Global's licences had been suspended "in the public interest, including to protect the interests of consumers" and that last week Edgar Lavarello of PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited Gibraltar had been appointed as liquidator by order of the Supreme Court of Gibraltar.

The statement went on: "In consequence, all MoPlay’s activities were immediately suspended and customers have not been able to access or withdraw money from their accounts.

"We regret this situation and apologise for all the inconvenience and hardship caused to customers. We are presently exploring possibilities to resolve this situation by seeking to enter into arrangements with the aim of safeguarding the customer balances.

"We thank you for your patience and we confirm that we will make another statement to all our customers as soon as there are any developments on which we can update you."

A sale of MoPlay's player database is understood to be one of the options being examined, with Star Sports one of the potential buyers.

The Gambling Commission requires all operators to tell its customers what level of protection they provide, with three levels laid out by the commission – not protected, medium and high.

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