Gambling Commission Suspends Nektan License

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has suspended Nektan's UK bingo and online casino licenses pending an official investigation into the Gibraltar business.

Confirming the commencement of Nektan (Gibraltar) Limited's section 116 review, the UKGC said it suspected the company had violated its license terms in the UK.

“Therefore, we consider it appropriate to suspend the license with immediate effect until the verification is completed or until the operator can satisfy the commission it is fulfilling,” the UKGC said.

“We have made it clear to the operator that it must communicate effectively with its customers and that the suspension does not prevent it from paying out winnings.

“The Gambling Commission will not comment on further action while the investigation is ongoing,” the regulator added.

Nektan is a gaming technology and services provider specializing in mobile casinos.

According to the UKGC website, Nektan operates 238 UK gambling domains, all of which are currently inactive.

In recent years, the company has experienced a sharp decline in fortunes and finances.

Nektan first ran into financial difficulties towards the end of 2019 and then turned over its loss-making B2C business to Active Win Group's Grace Media in a £200,000 deal.

The UKGC does not disclose whether the events leading to the license suspension occurred in the old or new property.

In April 2020, the Gibraltar Supreme Court appointed Stephen de Lara of Signature Litigation (Gibraltar) Limited and Jan Defty of CVR Global LLP as administrators of the company.

At the time, Nektan cited a "time of significant uncertainty" for the sector and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its suppliers and operating partners as the reason for the denial of control.

The appointment comes after Nektan admitted it was unable to obtain "the working capital needed to secure the company's future," a decision that led to the firm's delisting from the AIM index for the second time in a year.

Nektan was initially suspended from AIM in January 2020 for failing to publish annual accounts as required by trading rules.