LeoVegas has recently become the latest online gaming operator to exit the United Kingdom’s gaming market as a result of growing regulatory pressure in the territory. Royal Panda, the gaming operator’s online gambling brand, will no longer be available to customers in the United Kingdom from January 31, 2019.
The Exit Timeline
The announcement which was delivered earlier this week informed the existing customers of the brand’s exit plans. These existing customers are not allowed to make any more deposits and cannot place any new sports bets beginning January 20. It also revealed that the online gaming site will no longer be accepting new registrations.
As mentioned above, all gambling activities on the UK-facing online gaming brand will be stopped on January 31 at 9 am local time. Royal Panda will void any and all sports bets place by January 20 for any sporting activities occurring after the site’s closing date. Players will receive a refund for these particular wagers. Meanwhile, for any wagers players place before the closure announcement for events occurring after January 31, Royal Panda hopes to work something out with each individual player.
If you are one of the site’s customers, it is advisable to withdraw all of your funds as soon as you can. While LeoVegas has promised to make attempts to release customer funds through the payment methods they have listed, it is important for the players to make follow-ups as soon as they can.
In the event that the online gaming brand is not able to reach customers with funds in their accounts, it will donate all the remaining funds to the GambleAware charity after a year. For customers with bonuses in their accounts, they will be viable until January 31.
As expected, Royal Panda’s exit from the United Kingdom’s online gambling market also means that it will be cutting ties with its affiliate partners. These partners have until January 31 to remove Royal Panda-related promotional content that targets the United Kingdom’s gambling market.
Gaming Regulation in the United Kingdom
In a bid to protect consumers and weed out some illegal gambling practices, the United Kingdom’s authorities have doubled down on their regulatory efforts. A number of tough regulations are already in place and the regulator plans to introduce and implement more this year.
For instance, a recent proposal by a parliamentary group in the country has recommended the introduction of limits to online casino deposits and stakes. These kinds of recommendations are what have driven gaming operations like Royal Panda away from the highly-lucrative online gaming market.
