The Curaçao Gaming Control Board (GCB) has taken a crucial step by assigning a trustee to manage assets and secure payments for BC.GAME users amid a rising legal confrontation regarding alleged misconduct.
At the beginning of November, BlockDance BV and Small House BV, the companies behind BC.GAME, were officially declared bankrupt in Curaçao. This declaration followed claims from numerous players highlighting system errors that purportedly caused considerable losses on the platform.
Represented by the advocacy group, Foundation for the Advocation of Victims of Online Gambling (SBGOK), players accused Small House BV of withdrawing a combined total of $2.1 million across several accounts.
In defense, Small House BV contended that the funds in question were either settled or due to BC.GAME, resulting from the exploitation of bonus systems or software loopholes.
The crypto-centric platform has consistently refuted all accusations.
Nevertheless, the GCB has decided to intervene to establish “suitable regulatory measures.”
According to a statement from the Curaçao regulatory body, “Due to confidentiality duties, the GCB will not disclose specific details regarding this matter.”
The statement further explains that, “This issue pertains to a conflict between the BC.GAME website and its players. The bankruptcy was deemed due to Small House/BlockDance’s failure to reimburse players amid this conflict, leading the court to declare bankruptcy.”
The GCB clarifies that this bankruptcy is procedural, founded on a civil law statute in Curaçao and is unrelated to insolvency.
A trustee has been brought in to manage the estate and ensure player payments. The GCB is working with the involved regulated entity to determine the right regulatory actions.
Currently, BC.GAME and its parent company, BlockDance, are under scrutiny from regulators in various other markets.
This includes Portugal, where the Portuguese Association of Betting and Online Games has lodged criminal complaints against the company for conducting gambling activities without a license. Additionally, in the Netherlands, the parent company BlockDance has been fined by the KSA for illegal market operations.
The GCB has also addressed its progress on licensing reforms after receiving a complaint about the National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK) reform procedure.
The regulatory body asserted that the claim regarding the GCB’s purported lack of legal authority to issue licenses is incorrect since the Minister of Finance empowered the authority to do so in March 2020.
The regulator emphasized that fees for approved licenses are deposited directly into an official government bank account instead of being processed via the online gaming portal, thereby eliminating any potential for mismanagement. Allegations of embezzlement, according to the GCB, are thus “unfounded.”
The information was originally reported by EGR Intel.