666BET director arrested in £21m fraud probe
Operator distances itself from investigation which saw Paul Bell detained by police
666BET director Paul Bell has been arrested in connection with an ongoing investigation into multiple fraud and money laundering offences.
Speaking to eGaming Review, an employee at the operator, who preferred not to be named, confirmed Bell was one of seven men to have been detained by officers in both the UK and the Isle of Man in relation to a multi-jurisdictional probe being carried out by the UK HM Revenue & Customs, Isle of Man Constabulary (IOMC), Cheshire Constabulary and Guernsey Border Agency.
While suspects have yet to be named by police, the IOMC confirmed the arrests via a statement released on the 18 March, just days before Great Britain’s Gambling Commission and the Alderney Gambling Control Commission suspended the operating licences belonging to Metro Play, which operates the 666BET and Metro Play brands.
A Metro Play source quoted in an Independent of Sunday article yesterday, which also named Bell, distanced the operator from the investigation and stressed it had nothing to do with the firm’s online gambling operations.
Meanwhile an employee who did not wish to be named told eGR that the alleged offences related to Bell’s “other business interests” and that the licence suspensions were due to concerns over whether Bell could still be regarded as a “fit and proper” person.
According to the employee, the firm is hopeful it can re-establish both the Metro Play and 666BET websites within the next week and is currently looking at ways it could navigate the licence suspensions through a white-label arrangement, potentially with platform provider EveryMatrix.
With both the Metro Play and 666BET websites unavailable, players have so far been unable to request a withdrawal of funds held by the firm and the Gambling Commission has said the licence suspension should not prevent the operator from returning money owed to customers.
A message on the 666BET website apologised for the inconvenience and informed customers that a return of funds would happen in “due course”.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances, our site has been temporarily taken down until an internal issue has been rectified,” the message read. “We are confident this will happen in good time and would also like to assure any customers worried about account funds, they will be processed in due course.”
eGR also understands that Barry Martin, who was effectively the operator’s chief executive despite a recent switch to a consultancy role, has parted ways with the firm.