Anjouan gambling licences under legal challenge

[mirakal]

Interesting news here about the government of Comoros, which is questioning the legality of gambling licences being issued under Anjouan's name.

As what I've researched, Comoros is the country where Anjouan is located, however, Anjouan has autonomy and its own local government, so the licensing authorities claim that their operations are legal under Anjouan's laws. Now the challenge is that the Comoros government is reportedly preparing legal action against these licensing activities, so if the government wins, could this also be a threat to the validity of the licenses obtained by casinos from this island?

here's some relevant words from the news

Licences to print money
There are nearly 1,500 gaming licence holders on the public register of the Anjouan Gaming Authority, many specialising in crypto gambling.

Probably the best known is BC.Game, which sponsored the shirts of Leicester City FC and has been accused of accepting bets from UK customers, even though it does not have a British licence.

A newcomer, BetBolt, appears to be targeting a particular type of British punter. First, it claimed to have paid Bonnie Blue $1.2m (£910,000) to win an auction for the right to name her newborn baby.

[Iranus]

Internal political and legal imbroglio between government of Comoros and island of Anjouan has come as major bombshell for world of online gambling.
If central government wins in court and declare authority or decrees of Anjouan licensing body null and void or illegal then, overnight some 1500 license holder will find themself in serious trouble.
This poses huge threat especially to crypto gambling site or BC.Game, which operate in various countries by navigating complexities of licensing.

[alani123]

The Comoros is a strictly Muslim country and much of the infrastructure there functions under Muslim principles, which includes rules for financial institutions. The politics of the region are interesting because Anjuan is completely ignoring these principles to the faith chosen by the nation's people to go and issue gambling licenses for the whole world.

They're profiting on an industry that their own people have chosen to ban. It seems a handful few people were utilizing corruption in Anjuan to take advantage of certain situations while also syphoning the money elsewhere. They might be running out of time now. I predict Anjuan licenses will soon be invalidated and either the central government or Comoros will take over or just completely ban this activity.

[gracreavix]

Lowest of rank things always have issues. Same as this licensing that all the casinos are buying into. I think they have a very fair rule that favours the casinos. That's why they always buy the licence. I can be wrong, but that is what I think.

If the licence has beimg operating in a country were a government exist and this issue is just coming up after a very long time the headquarters of the licence is there. It's worrying. I feel the government of that country are either nonchalant or stupid.

[Die_empty]

Interesting news here about the government of Comoros, which is questioning the legality of gambling licences being issued under Anjouan's name.

As what I've researched, Comoros is the country where Anjouan is located, however, Anjouan has autonomy and its own local government, so the licensing authorities claim that their operations are legal under Anjouan's laws. Now the challenge is that the Comoros government is reportedly preparing legal action against these licensing activities, so if the government wins, could this also be a threat to the validity of the licenses obtained by casinos from this island?

Comoros had to wait until Anjouan issued about 1,500 gaming licences before it decided to act. If not for the investigation carried out by the Guardian, this so-called illegality would have continued. I am convinced that the government of Comoros has been benefiting from the growing status of Anjouan as a crypto, gambling, and financial license hub.

If the law declared that Anjouan lacks the power to issue licenses, the ones it has issued would become invalid. Casinos would have to seek other expensive licences because Anjouan was cheap. They might have to pay as high as £80,000 for a Curaçao licence. Meanwhile, an Anjouan license is as low as £20,000.

[Crypto Library]

Interesting news here about the government of Comoros, which is questioning the legality of gambling licences being issued under Anjouan's name.

As what I've researched, Comoros is the country where Anjouan is located, however, Anjouan has autonomy and its own local government, so the licensing authorities claim that their operations are legal under Anjouan's laws. Now the challenge is that the Comoros government is reportedly preparing legal action against these licensing activities, so if the government wins, could this also be a threat to the validity of the licenses obtained by casinos from this island?

After reading this news article, I understood a few things in essence, which are that their government has announced legal action against this Anjouan casino license provider company for not cancellingthe license to those casino who didn't follow the law of specific regions. But it is also true that still it is not yet the case that they will close this casino license provider or also that the previous licenses will be canceled.

Even if they take a tough action against the casino license provider, I think the government will initially fine them for not complying with the law and issue a warning, but I don't think such institutions will ever be closed down immediately. However, even if govt. shut down their operations, I think they will definitely give a certain amount of time for operators to shift their licenses to another provider, although it will be also a worst case for the casinos.

[Cointxz]

As what I've researched, Comoros is the country where Anjouan is located, however, Anjouan has autonomy and its own local government, so the licensing authorities claim that their operations are legal under Anjouan's laws. Now the challenge is that the Comoros government is reportedly preparing legal action against these licensing activities, so if the government wins, could this also be a threat to the validity of the licenses obtained by casinos from this island?

here's some relevant words from the news
.

If Comoros win then I believe Anjouan will be force to comply to the regulations set by Comoros considering that the main reason for this legal challenge is sharing the pie on Anjouan license profit due to the demand for their license.

I Anjouan will let all their client suffer if ever they will lose so I believe there will be some settlement or negotiation in an event that they are on the losing side.

[free-bit.co.in]

As for BC.Game and BetBolt, operating underground gambling relying on offshore license rather than local UK license, was already grey area to begin with. Now this legal pressure from Comoros government will make entire system even more vulnerable.

I don't know what will happen in future, but if other countries like Comoros actually take strict action then reputation of these Anjouan license will drop to absolute zero. In that case, operator would have to shift to some other, more flexible jurisdiction. Otherwise crisis of fund and trust will emerge among gamblers. Judging by what's happening it seems days of easily buying license and printing money are about to come to an end very soon!

[mirakal]

As what I've researched, Comoros is the country where Anjouan is located, however, Anjouan has autonomy and its own local government, so the licensing authorities claim that their operations are legal under Anjouan's laws. Now the challenge is that the Comoros government is reportedly preparing legal action against these licensing activities, so if the government wins, could this also be a threat to the validity of the licenses obtained by casinos from this island?

here's some relevant words from the news
.

If Comoros win then I believe Anjouan will be force to comply to the regulations set by Comoros considering that the main reason for this legal challenge is sharing the pie on Anjouan license profit due to the demand for their license.

I Anjouan will let all their client suffer if ever they will lose so I believe there will be some settlement or negotiation in an event that they are on the losing side.

I believe they will be moving to another licensing provider with regulations as lax as Anjouan's. the only reason Anjouan is popular is because the licensing fee is not that expensive and the regulations are not that strict compared to regulators in countries like the US and UK. So let's see how this develops but i'm sure casinos are already aware of this and they also have a backup plan.

[xenomorfo]

As for BC.Game and BetBolt, operating underground gambling relying on offshore license rather than local UK license, was already grey area to begin with. Now this legal pressure from Comoros government will make entire system even more vulnerable.

I don't know what will happen in future, but if other countries like Comoros actually take strict action then reputation of these Anjouan license will drop to absolute zero. In that case, operator would have to shift to some other, more flexible jurisdiction. Otherwise crisis of fund and trust will emerge among gamblers. Judging by what's happening it seems days of easily buying license and printing money are about to come to an end very soon!

I wouldn't worry, at least i know about bc.game and so far they have proven to be extremely reliable.
I don't think I've seen any scam accusations around. So i would say that for me at least the question is of secondary importance.
I'm interested in them being reliable.

[Texac]

As what I've researched, Comoros is the country where Anjouan is located, however, Anjouan has autonomy and its own local government, so the licensing authorities claim that their operations are legal under Anjouan's laws. Now the challenge is that the Comoros government is reportedly preparing legal action against these licensing activities, so if the government wins, could this also be a threat to the validity of the licenses obtained by casinos from this island?

In my opinion, situation with Anjouan gambling license is pretty serious, especially considering how many online casino are operating under this jurisdiction today. After all, many gambler see having license as proof that casino is operating legally and is being supervised by regulator.

Of course, Anjouan has certain degree of autonomy, but that doesn't necessarily mean local authority can regulate absolutely any activity on their own without approval from central government. It all depend on laws of Comoros and exactly what power have been given to island. Although that doesn't automatically mean all previously issued license will become invalid.

And for me, main question here isn't even how many casino might lose their license, but who will be held responsible to gamblers if these operator start having problem paying out withdrawals.

[noorman0]

The Comoros is a strictly Muslim country and much of the infrastructure there functions under Muslim principles, which includes rules for financial institutions. The politics of the region are interesting because Anjuan is completely ignoring these principles to the faith chosen by the nation's people to go and issue gambling licenses for the whole world.

I think they are like the country of China which has several exclusive autonomous regions, in this case Anjouan Island is also another version of the Comoros country which, according to history, was previously independent. Therefore they can form an authority that can issue offshore licenses as well as relevant supervisory institutions.

[leea-1334]

Trust me this will not affect these casinos for a long time,,, unless well there is a dictatorship there and they will crack down on their 'rebel' territory   but this is what the risk these casinos deal with looking for these new licenses.

@alani123 Had no idea Comoros was majority Islam but I believe it is a form that is not radical there. Corruption like you said the real problem rather than anything else.

[ultrloa]

Interesting news here about the government of Comoros, which is questioning the legality of gambling licences being issued under Anjouan's name.

As what I've researched, Comoros is the country where Anjouan is located, however, Anjouan has autonomy and its own local government, so the licensing authorities claim that their operations are legal under Anjouan's laws. Now the challenge is that the Comoros government is reportedly preparing legal action against these licensing activities, so if the government wins, could this also be a threat to the validity of the licenses obtained by casinos from this island?

here's some relevant words from the news

This is the real problem with casinos have Anjouan license, since if the government win in this case. Then there's high chance that all the license issued might became invalid.

The casino will get affected on this, since they automatically became an illegal casino. They might also lost the confidence of their partners and also their players.

People should pay close attention with this issue. Its crazy how those casinos got their license would react on this matter, I guess the only solution to do in this case is to transfer on other license provider.

[YOSHIE]

Anjouan gambling licences under legal challenge

When the state already questioned the Anjouan gambling licensing company legally about false legitimacy, Of course, overall this situation will have a big impact on the online gambling industry ecosystem in general, especially gambling sites that use Anjouan licenses.

As the OP quoted above there are at least around 1,500 online casino operators holding Anjouan licenses operating under the laws of the Comorian central government, When the government no longer recognizes the Anjouan/illegal license, of course this will have a negative impact on global jurisdictions, one of the negative impacts is players' concerns, security, reputation of online gambling platforms and so on that may be faced by crypto gambling platforms.

Obviously this will have an impact and hinder the financial payment system for online gambling platforms, Likewise, doubts arise regarding cooperation between technology providers due to the impact of licenses that are not legally recognized by the relevant countries. This will actually worsen the situation and situation for various elements.

[Filicius]

I believe they will be moving to another licensing provider with regulations as lax as Anjouan's. the only reason Anjouan is popular is because the licensing fee is not that expensive and the regulations are not that strict compared to regulators in countries like the US and UK. So let's see how this develops but i'm sure casinos are already aware of this and they also have a backup plan.

Taking into account that the 1,500 casinos bet their future based on what is decided, I also imagine that the vast majority will already be thinking about alternatives of action to take depending on the different scenarios that may open up in the future. In the event that they have to pay for a more expensive license, in most cases I guess they will not have a major problem.

Perhaps those who will have the greatest problem in the future are the small casinos that are just starting out and have to face an expensive license that they may not be able to afford.

[asriloni]

so if the government wins, could this also be a threat to the validity of the licenses obtained by casinos from this island?

It could be threatening the validity of license because comoros doesn't even acknowledge anjouan license. So all of licenses will be invalid. However, the weirdest thing is that why does Comoros take an action this time? Anjouan license has been used since more than two decades, and is there a financial motive behind this?
 
We know that anjouan license is like a money printing because thousands of legit and scam migrated to this license after other license such as Curacao is tightening their regulation.

[crwth]

After that, what now? Like after the victory, would the licenses be voided or something? Or would the operators have a chance to have that kind of transition period to give them some leeway to what the situation they are in?

I'm just curious if it's retroactive or just the future licenses now and the current licenses would just be waited 'til expiry?

[Moreno233]

If central government wins in court and declare authority or decrees of Anjouan licensing body null and void or illegal then, overnight some 1500 license holder will find themself in serious trouble.
This poses huge threat especially to crypto gambling site or BC.Game, which operate in various countries by navigating complexities of licensing.

I don't think that the outcome of the matter will have much effect on the license holders, they will simply look for alternatives which are not far-fetched. I do not even think that Comoros would want to lose those revenues, so they might just operate with the same conditions but different name to enable them retain the customers. The reason for the intervention is the money coming in through thise licenses, so they wouldn't want to lose that.

[Frankolala]

The problem is that Anjouan is giving out licence to illegal gambling platforms and that's what Comoros has kicked against because it can cause future problems for them. Since, Comoros is aware that Anjouan is giving out gambling licence to casinos, they wouldn't rule it as invalid rather, Comoros will fine Anjouan and put strict laws on getting licence from Anjouan and monitor their operations strictly. This is because they're also benefiting from the business. I just feel that assuming the UK issue didn't pop up about casinos with Anjuoan license targeting vulnerable gamblers in UK, Comoros might feel unconcerned about who Anjouan gives gambling license to.