FSB voluntarily suspended all gambling activities on its Blackbet website as a result of the review.

The Gambling Commission referenced regulatory concerns as grounds for instigating the examination under s116 of the Gambling Act.

This section provides the Gambling Commission with the opportunity to start a review in the case it receives a report that a gambling company is offering services that are not legally covered by its operating license.

The Gambling Commission may also investigate if it suspects the company is not suitable to continue offering its licenses activities.  

David McDowell, FSB CEO and Co-Founder, told Gambling Insider: “The Gambling Commission has recently expressed concerns over the levels of due diligence performed on a small number of our white label partners. These partners and FSB are now fully cooperating with the Gambling Commission, and we anticipate comprehensive resolution of those concerns in short order.

“This process is isolated to a nominal amount of white label licences only, and no further impact or site-suspension is expected.”

McDowell said FSB will continue to act in transparent faith with the Gambling Commission and honour any unsettled bets.

On 12 August, 1xBet was shut down in the UK following a Sunday Times investigation.

The newspaper scrutinised the operator’s activities, including the promotion of a casino that employed topless croupiers, bets on children’s sports and advertising on illegal websites.

As a result, the Gambling Commission announced it would look into 1xBet’s relationship with FSB.

A spokesperson for the Gambling Commission said there is currently nothing to add regarding its ongoing investigation into 1xBet and its ties to FSB.