Malta LGA (Finally) Suspends Everleaf Gaming

29th July 2013 // Industry, News

Today’s lesson in how to close the barn door after all the animals have fled to pasture comes to us from Malta’s Lotteries & Gaming Authority (LGA). The LGA has announced, at least a year after it’s ceased to matter in any meaningful way, that it has suspended the license of Everleaf Gaming.

The suspension was supposedly put into effect on July 26th, but since Everleaf has effectively been out of business for many months, it’s all just a face-saving process by the LGA. As for Everleaf, even if the lights are on, no one seems to be home.

The litany against Everleaf’s theft from players has been sung for a couple of years. Everleaf pulled out of the US network after having a very small amount of funds seized from a third-party payment processor, then decided to leave the entirety of its former US player base high and dry, by only allowing withdrawals to bank accounts outside the US or via payment processors already not serving the American market. Since most of its former US players had no way to do this, Everleaf just pocketed all the cash… assuming they hadn’t spent it all before that anyway.

Where was the LGA amid that fiasco, which amounted to a de facto seizing of all US player balances? Nowhere. Instead, the LGA accepted another year of licensing fees from Everleaf’s owners, while the US players filed protests with the LGA that fell upon deaf ears. The LGA even went so far at one point to allege that many of the player protests were fakes, and were instead being put forth by jilted Everleaf affiliates. As. If. That. Was. A. Relevant. Justification.

So what’s changed now? It’s probably just that Everleaf isn’t writing any more checks to the LGA. There’s really no other logical reason for the LGA to issue its latest proclamation; the supposed Malta gaming regulator isn’t so much a rubber-stamp licensor as it is the whole damned rubber tree plantation.

There aren’t any particularly reputable regulatory authorities, but Malta ranks right down there with Curacao as being the worst of a lousy batch. To the extent that online poker players believe those little seals at the bottom of gaming sites mean anything at all, don’t buy the hype: The trust customers have with the sites should be earned by those sites themselves.

Anyhow, here’s the latest from the LGA. It’s worth approximately two chuckles:

Suspension of Everleaf Gaming Limited

Following investigations, and after having received all the information as requested by the Lotteries and Gaming Authority (hereinafter the ‘Authority’) from Everleaf Gaming Limited’s Players, the Authority hereby notifies that the remote gaming licences LGA/CL1/665/2011 and LGA/CL3/230/2008 held by Everleaf Gaming Limited have been suspended as of 26^th of July 2013.
Everleaf Gaming Limited has thus been directed not to continue registering new players, not to take any further deposits, and not to offer any games falling under the Authority’s licences until further notice.
Everleaf Gaming Limited operated a Class 3 on 4 licence (for Poker) and a Class 1 on 4 licence (for Casino) through URLs as provided in this link.
Furthermore the Authority hereby notifies that any websites operated by Everleaf Gaming Limited or associated with Everleaf Gaming Limited and which make reference to the Authority or the above-quoted licences issued by the Authority are not approved by the Authority. Due to its suspension of licences, Everleaf Gaming Limited is therefore not authorised to continue conducting gaming by means of distance communications under an Authority Licence.
As the Authority has collected all the necessary evidence pertaining to the case that was under investigation, the Authority notifies that no further information shall be released at this stage not to compromise any further investigations that may need to be performed by the competent authorities.