Michigan Regulator Tells Operators to Justify Withdrawal Delays

The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) is puzzled by the local operators’ tendency to delay withdrawals. As a result, the regulator has asked licensees to provide explanations for the hold-ups.

As outlined in a memorandum published on April 23, the MGCB determined that withdrawal requests are the most frequent reason for customer complaints. According to the authority, operators have been unnecessarily flagging players’ withdrawal requests, preventing consumers from getting their money in a timely manner.

For context, the MGCB pointed out that under the Michigan regulations operators have to honor withdrawal within 10 days unless the customer cancels the request. Licensees can only decline to honor an authorized participant’s withdrawal request if they suspect that the person has engaged in fraudulent behavior or has violated the operator’s rules.

However, operators who suspect fraud must immediately notify the customer in question and conduct a formal investigation.

Operators Must Justify Their Delays

In the memorandum, Dave Murley, deputy director of online gaming and legal affairs, said:

After investigation, the Board concluded that several operators/platform providers have failed to return funds to authorized participants (APs) in a timely manner. Further, several operator/platform providers have failed to provide required notifications to APs regarding delays in processing withdrawal requests and seem to note problems with the account only after the AP has requested a withdrawal.

Dave Murley, deputy director of online gaming and legal affairs, MGCB

Murley pointed out that the MGCB acknowledges that operators and platform providers may also have other best practices to ensure compliance and advised licensees to share those with the board.

Additionally, the deputy director asked gambling companies to provide rationalization for flagging APs’ withdrawal requests for reasons which seem to have no clear connection with the requests themselves.

The Board has found, in many of these instances, that the AP was allowed to establish a wagering account, deposit funds into the account, and place wagers without incident. However, when the AP requested a withdrawal, an alert flag was triggered by the platform.

Dave Murley, deputy director of online gaming and legal affairs, MGCB

The memorandum provided gambling companies with three weeks to address this matter and submit feedback to the gambling regulator.

In other news, Henry Williams, the executive director of the board, recently underscored the organization’s endeavors to combat illegal gambling in a recent statement.