Online casinos are easily transferable digital assets. The transfer of the Gammix Ltd casino to the offshore operator Starscream Ltd raises serious questions about the ongoing illegal gambling activity in Europe.
Despite heavy fines from the Dutch regulator KSA, Gammix appears to have simply moved its operations offshore, where it continues to ignore oversight from regulated payment processors, VLAST reports.
Key points:
Starscream Limited, an offshore company based in St Lucia, is believed to have taken over the online casino from Gammix Ltd, a Malta-based and MGA-regulated operator that has been heavily penalised by Dutch regulators.
The transfer of Starscream Casino appears to have come in response to the Dutch Gambling Authority (KSA) crackdown on Gammix Ltd, which has said it will fight the KSA fines.
Starscream operates under a license from the Kannawake Gaming Commission (KGC), but continues to offer services in markets such as the EEA where it is not licensed.
Regulated financial institutions, including payment processors such as Revolut and MiFinity, have been implicated in facilitating payments for Starscream’s illicit operations.
The report draws parallels with Rabidi Group, which similarly moved its casino operations offshore to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
Brief description:
St Lucia-based Starscream Ltd quickly gained attention in the online gambling world after it allegedly took over the casino operations of Gammix Ltd. Gammix, which was licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), was hit with significant fines by the KSA in the Netherlands for operating without proper licensing. Despite a €19.6 million fine imposed by the KSA in early 2024, Gammix appears to have continued operating, prompting speculation that its casinos were taken over by Starscream to avoid the influence of European regulators.
Starscream, which operates the same casinos that were once licensed by Gammix under the MGA, operates under a license from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), which allows it to operate legally in Canada but not in Europe. However, its casinos actively attract players in European jurisdictions. This move to an offshore jurisdiction has raised concerns that Starscream may be a strategic move by the beneficial owners of Gammix to continue to offer services illegally in Europe.
Compliance Insight:
There is a clear pattern of casino operators like Starscream using offshore jurisdictions to evade European oversight, especially after crackdowns by organisations like the KSA. However, it should be noted that such illegal casino activity is only possible because (aside from direct cryptocurrency transactions) there are payment processors that are apparently lax in their compliance activities.
Starscream Casino uses Stardust Global CSS Ltd (Stardust Ltd), a Cyprus registered company, to process payments from or to players and appears to be readily accepted as a merchant by regulated payment processors.
The involvement of regulated financial institutions such as Revolut, MiFinity or emerchantpay (eZeeWallet) in facilitating payments for unlicensed casinos is a concern. There is a need to investigate and call on these institutions to take a more stringent stance when screening their customers, especially in risky sectors such as online gambling.
As payment agents we of course found Binance Pay again (they never have any problems), as well as CryptoProcessing (powered by CoinsPaid) and Jetonbank, which operates under a license in Dominica.
Further analysis is needed to assess the extent of Starscream’s operations in unlicensed jurisdictions and the role of payment agents in Cyprus, such as Stardust Global CCS Ltd, that facilitate this illegal activity. Regulators in Europe need to coordinate more effectively to block access to unlicensed casinos and reduce the involvement of payment processors in supporting them.
Call for information:
As with Rabidi Group, Starscream’s activities appear to be shrouded in anonymity and conducted through offshore companies and payment agents in jurisdictions such as Cyprus. We call on industry insiders and professionals to provide information on Starscream’s beneficial owners, payment agents and related entities to help FinTelegram uncover the full extent of their illicit operations.
