Intouch Games Concede The UKGC License
Published On 4th September 2023
Intouch Games, the company behind brands such as Pocket Win and mFortune Casino, have surrendered their UK Gambling Commission license and ceased operations with immediate effect. The move comes as The UKGC have reported that they are suspending Intouch Games' three licenses with immediate effect because they believe that the company may be "unsuitable" to carry out licensed activities. Players with accounts at Intouch Games' brands are being advised that they no longer will be able to deposit and use the services. Any funds in accounts should be available to be withdrawn.
Which Sites Have Closed?
The effected brands are as follows: mFortune, PocketWin, MrSpin, Dr Slot, Cashmo, Casino 2020, Bonus Boss, Slot Factory and Jammy Monkey. Visitors to all eight sites are advised of the closure via a big yellow notice at the top of each. The notice states that "We regret to inform you that we have taken the difficult decision to surrender our licence with immediate effect and you will no longer be able to deposit and use our services. Please be assured that any outstanding balances on your account will remain protected and available to be withdrawn in accordance with our terms and conditions. You can find further details of how to withdraw your funds by logging in to your account. If you have any queries relating to our surrender you can direct these to our customer support team by using the Support section of the website".
UKGC Suspension
Intouch Games' decision to hand back their license follows a UKGC intervention which saw their activities suspended with immediate effect. According to reports areas that were highlightedby The UKGC included concerns with respect to money laundering, fair and transparent terms and practices and reporting key events. By apparently conceding their UK license Intouch Games have basically said that they can't function within UKGC terms. It's therefore easier to walk away from the jurisdiction rather than end up with a massive fine, a long suspension or even the loss of their license anyway. This isn't the first UKGC rodeo for Intouch who were fined over £6million by the commission early in 2023. This kind of find usually should see an operator sort their house out but it seems that this wasn't the case here. In fact this all sounds very familiar. Bgo.com for example found themselves in hot water with UKGC and eventually pulled the plug on their UK business because it was just unable to function with fines and rulings.
A Different Approach To UK Gambling
Long before all the big guns of online casino and slots got involved in mobile there was mFortune Casino. Players could sign up for this UK casino via their handsets and then download games to play. As the age of mobile and apps finally arrived mFortune's uniqueness quickly became diluted, but this didn't stop Intouch from trying to establish themselves. They launched other brands like PocketWin, Jammy Monkey, Mr Slot, Dr Spin, Bonus Boss and the oddly titled Casino 2020 plus added bingo to a couple of these options. The send game to mobile option was still used but slots were also accessible via browsers. Despite most operators abandoning the no deposit bonus for new players, Intouch continued with it. Despite this we felt that players didn't really jump in to join the various brands. Perhaps that was down to the mobile set-up, unfamilar games and/or lack of options such as live casino and a wide choice of slots. In a world of everyone offering Slingo, Megaways and Spinning Wheels, Intouch had something different. Sadly different doesn't always mean good or playing within the rules.
What Next For Intouch Games?
Intouch Games have been a UK facing operator for several years and as far as we know don't operate in other countries. Without a license they can't run their business and without a business they're pretty much toast. However one of the things that Intouch Games have done differently to every other operator is create all their own games. Whilst your Ladbrokes, William Hill, Sky Vegas etc use third party providers, Intouch Games used only their own titles. They could potentially sell these games or provide them to other operators - although that may require holding a license and that might be a problem. Sadly though given the state of the current UK market, one that is becoming increasingly difficult for smaller brands anyway, we suspect that this is the end of the line for mFortune and co. It is possible that they may look to other territories but with a poor track record and huge fines on their CV then that may not be a sensible move either.
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