666BET payments halted due to lack of funds
Metro Play chairman tells Gambling Commission he plans to make more money available in order to pay customers
Metro Play and 666BET customers may have to wait a little longer before receiving monies owed after the Gambling Commission today said the suspended operator was having to raise additional funding in order to meet its debts.
In a statement, the Gambling Commission said it had been informed by the chairman of the beleaguered operator that it planned to “make additional funds available to enable payments to customers”.
“The Commission understands that payments are not presently being made, pending the promised additional funding needed from the owners and the alternative withdrawal arrangements being made available,” the regulator’s statement read.
The comments mark the first time the operator has seemingly admitted cash flow to be an issue in repaying customers following its licence suspension. The firm had previously attributed the delays to the removal of its websites and the cancellation of a number of third-party contracts, included those with payments companies.
Metro Play, which operates the two brands, recently called on the services of Skrill to help process customer withdrawals, however, the Commissions said today the firm would now offer direct bank transfer as an alternative option.
“[â¦] we intend to contact those customers who have not yet had their withdrawal processed and offer an alternative payment method to Skrill – most likely a bank transfer,” the Commission quoted Metro Play as saying.
According to the statement, the operator also said it would soon publish a contact email on both the Metro Play and 666BET sites after customers complained to the Commission that they had been unable to contact the operator to discuss the ongoing issue.
Earlier this month Metro Play set customers a deadline of 24 May in order to make withdrawals with the Commission stating the operator had so far repaid a “significant number” number of players.
The operator’s licences were suspended by both the Alderney and British regulator in March after its director Paul Bell was arrested amid an investigation related to a £21m tax fraud allegation.