The situation at 666Bet.com has gone from messy to messier as customers clamor for refunds and company officials come up with excuses to avoid doing just that.
Late last month, 666Bet.com’s UK gambling licenses were pulled as gaming officials investigated its connections to a money laundering scandal. These allegations also led to the arrest of the company’s director, Paul Bell, as he attempted to board a flight at Heathrow Airport.
Once 666Bet.com’s license was revoked, their site went dark and has remained that way ever since.
Bad as they may seem, Bell’s problems and 666Bet.com’s licensing situation don’t mean much to angry customers who are unable to access their accounts.
666Bet.com says that while they sympathize with their players, no payment processors will do business with them until their license is restored…no matter what UK gaming authorities say.
In a statement to the press, as reported on by Gambling911.com, a company official spelled out the situation as it stands today:
While the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) have stated that we do not require a licence in order for customers to withdraw their money and authorised us to do so, this is misleading as it does not recognise the fact that, as a web-based company, we need to be online in order for customers to action their withdrawals via their accounts
He went one to say that 666Bet.com is doing everything it can to rectify the situation as quickly as possible:
We have been in negotiations with a third party provider to allow us to return so customers can authorise withdrawals, quickly and smoothly. Our potential provider explicitly informed us in good faith that this move needs to be sanctioned by the UKGC. We were further told that this was expected yesterday but so far we have yet to receive an update from either party.
No matter what 666Bet.com or the gaming regulators say, it looks like the company’s players, affiliate partners and creditors may be waiting a long time before they see a payout.