EveryMatrix Has UKGC Licence Suspended With Immediate Effect & Withdraws From UK

London-based gambling software provider EveryMatrix has been informed by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission that its licence to operate has been suspended as the regulator carries out a review into its conduct.  It comes just weeks after 1xBet had their licence suspended.

It’s believed that an examination of the EveryMatrix customer interaction framework has left the UKGC with concerns, specifically with regards to the way that the company deals with problem gamblers.

Whilst the suspension will stop EveryMatrix from being able to offer people remote casino and real betting, it doesn’t interfere with their ability to offer installing, manufacturing, supplying or adapting gambling software as far as its business-to-business clients are concerned.

Anyone that has an account using the EveryMatrix system (e.g with Jetbull, Bookee and others) will still be able to see ante-post bets placed before the suspension became active get settled, as well as log into their accounts in order to withdraw any funds.

EveryMatrix Explained

Though the gambling industry in general reacted with a sense of shock to the EveryMatrix licence suspension, most bettors won’t really know who they are. That’s because not everyone knows that a lot of online betting sites don’t actually run their own betting system but instead tend to use services provided by ‘one-stop-shop’ businesses that do everything for them.

That’s where companies like EveryMatrix come in, offering ‘a modular and API driven product suite’ to sites that want to use their wares.

The list of services provided by EveryMatrix includes the following:

• A bonus sing engine
• A sportsbook that can be fully managed
• Payment processing platforms
• Sports data providers
• A management system across brands for agents and affiliates
• A casino platfrom that promises integration and content aggregation

Whether companies want to use the entire package offered by EveryMatrix or just certain parts of it is entirely up to them. They have been operating in the gambling industry for more than 11 years and during that time have expanded throughout Europe and Asia, with their base currently being in Malta.

What’s Actually Happened

The suspension of EveryMatrix’s UKGC licence appears to be because of discrepancies found by the Gambling Commission into how they deal with problem gamblers. The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Ebbe Groes, said that there’s no one specific player’s case that is behind the UKGC’s action, with the regulator also not appearing to have a problem with and ‘technical breaches’.

The suspension comes at a time when the Gambling Commission is cracking down on companies that fail to do enough to help problem gamblers.

Groes is adamant that EveryMatrix takes serious the issue of responsible gambling, pointing out that the company has already put a system in place to address the UKGC’s concerns. That has evidently not been enough to stop the suspension of the licence, but Groes feels that the revocation of the suspension will happen soon.

The Gambling Commission’s statement on the matter said, “Pursuant to section 118(2) Gambling Act 2005…the Commission has determined to suspend the above operating licence”. The suspension is only for the ‘remote gambling facility for real events’ and for the company’s ‘remote casinos’, meaning that they can still offer the supply, installation, manufacture and adaptation of gambling software, as well as pool betting and betting on virtual events.

Customers that have questions on the matter are directed to the EveryMatrix support email, but the important fact is that people won’t lose any money because of the suspension. Any ante-post bets that were placed before the suspension was made known to the company will be settled as normal, whilst customers will also be able to login to their accounts in order to withdraw any funds that they have in there.

Even so, it will be interesting to see how bettors respond to the situation, given that a lot of gambling sites depend on their reputation when it comes to attracting customers.

What Happens Next

The key question for EveryMatrix now is what will happen next. The Gambling Commission is conducting a review into their customer interaction framework, so the results of that review will likely determine what comes next for them.

The hope of Groes is that the suspension is lifted as soon as possible, if for no other reason than the company feels as though it’s doing everything it can to help the Gambling Commission with their investigation.

EveryMatrix agreed a sale of their business-to-customer site, Jetbull, in June of this year, with the idea being that the sale would go through on the first of July. At the time of writing the Jetbull site still appears to be both operated and maintained by EveryMatrix in spite of the €2 million sale to AMGO, a Swedish iGaming company.

Whether they will decide to take the site to another provider as a result of the licence suspension remains to be seen, but one thing’s for certain: this story is likely to see a few more twists and turns in the coming days.