Addison licence suspended, management team resigns

Following its Gibraltarian counterpart, the British Gambling Commission has suspended the licence of Addison Global and is now conducting a review of the operator – Addison operates sports betting site MoPlay.

The commission is carrying out the British review under Section 120(1)(b) of the Gambling Act, which authorises the agency to suspend or revoke a licence if it believes an operator is “unsuitable to carry on the licensed activities”.

Addison’s remote operating licence will stay suspended until the review is completed.

Earlier, Addison had its licence suspended by Gibraltar’s gambling regulator on Wednesday amid reports that the company is facing severe financial trouble.

The Gibraltar Licensing Authority stated that it had taken the decision as a result of the operator’s inability to honour its unpaid debts after a new infusion of funding had failed to materialise.

After seeing its licenses suspended in Great Britain and Gibraltar over financial issues, the company is now without a management team due to mass resignations.

The entire executive team of Addison stepped down just before Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner Andrew Lyman’s decision was made public, said a source close to the situation.

It is understood that the operator is working with regulators to figure out the next steps for the business and the executive team is continuing to work voluntarily alongside the company’s as-yet-unnamed principal shareholder, its directors and representatives.

Addison Global is known to owe significant sums of money to multiple affiliate partners, including an amount of more than £500,000 (€597,000/$645,000) to one. As per sources close to the matter, this money has been owed since March 2019. Despite the significant unpaid debts, the operator is not officially in liquidation.

“It is most disappointing that the promised financial support from the shareholder has failed to materialise, as the firm has not received the financial support it was projected to receive when first licensed”, Andrew Lyman said.

He added, “Whilst the directors will have to address the solvency issues, a decision has been made to suspend the relevant licences to protect consumers from any further detriment.”

Chief strategy officer of Addison Global, Nyreen Llamas, said that the company was unable to comment on anything regarding the licence suspension, including the status of player funds.

A legal advisor to the director of Addison Global said that the owners were in touch with all stakeholders and suppliers, working together with the “former” executive team.

“We are also liaising regularly with the UK and Gibraltar regulators. In light of license suspensions, we are no longer taking bets, registrations or deposits, however, players can, of course, withdraw funds”, the advisor said.

The advisor promised to provide further updates and said the company’s issues would be handled “in an orderly and correct manner by the entire team”.