Starscream Casinos: Offshore Casino Operator, Potential Regulatory Evasion, Payment Facilitators, and More Cyprus Connections!

• 11.10.2024 12:13

Online casinos are easily transferable digital assets. The transfer of Gammix Ltd‘s casinos to offshore operator Starscream Ltd raises serious questions about the continued illegal gambling activities in Europe. Despite massive penalties from the Dutch regulator KSA, Gammix appears to have simply shifted its operations offshore, where it continues to flout regulatory oversight facilitated by regulated payment processors.

Key Points:

• Starscream Limited, an offshore company based in St. Lucia, is speculated to have taken over online casinos from Gammix Ltd, a Malta-based and MGA-regulated operator heavily penalized by Dutch regulators.
• The transfer of casino operations to Starscream appears to have occurred in response to severe regulatory actions by the Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) against Gammix Ltd, which said it would fight the KSA fines.
• Starscream operates under a Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) license but continues to offer services in markets like the EEA, where it lacks authorization.
• Regulated financial institutions, including payment processors like Revolut and MiFinity, are implicated in facilitating payments for Starscream’s illegal operations.
• The report draws parallels with the Rabidi Group, which similarly transferred casino operations offshore to evade regulatory scrutiny.

Short Narrative:

Starscream Ltd, registered in St. Lucia, has swiftly gained attention in the online gambling world after allegedly taking over the operations of Gammix Ltd’s casinos. Gammix, licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), was subjected to significant penalties 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 appeared to continue its activities, prompting speculation that its casino operations were transferred to Starscream to evade European regulatory reach.

Starscream, now running the same casinos that once fell under Gammix’s MGA license, operates under a Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) license, which allows it to legally operate in Canada but not in Europe. However, its casinos are actively addressing players in European jurisdictions. This transfer to an offshore jurisdiction raises concerns that Starscream may be a strategic move by the beneficial owners of Gammix to continue offering services illegally in Europe.

Read our Rabidi Reports here.

Revolut accepts Stardust Ltd

Compliance Insight:

There is a clear pattern of casino operators like Starscream using offshore jurisdictions to evade European regulatory supervision, particularly following punitive actions by entities like the KSA. However, it should be noted that these illegal casino activities are only possible because (aside from direct crypto transactions) there are facilitating payment processors that apparently neglect their compliance activities.

Starscream casinos use Stardust Global CSS Ltd (Stardust Ltd), registered in Cyprus, to process payments from or to players, which apparently is 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 concerning issue. These institutions should be investigated and urged to take a stricter stance in vetting their business clients, especially in high-risk sectors like online gambling.

As payment facilitators, we have of course again found Binance Pay (they never have a problem with it), as well as CryptoProcessing (powered by CoinsPaid) and Jetonbank, which operates under a license in Dominica.

Further analysis is required 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, which are facilitating these illegal activities. Regulatory authorities in Europe should coordinate more effectively to block access to unlicensed casinos and curtail payment processors’ involvement in supporting them.

Starscream Key Data

Call for Information:

As with the Rabidi Group, Starscream’s operations appear shrouded in anonymity, operating through offshore companies and payment agents in jurisdictions such as Cyprus. We urge insiders and industry professionals to come forward with information regarding Starscream’s beneficial owners, payment processors, and related entities to help FinTelegram expose the full scope of their illegal operations.