A foreign online gamer has filed a judicial protest against Malta-based Everleaf Gaming Ltd, alleging that the company has refused to allow him to cash in his winnings. He is also alleging that the Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LGA) was aware of what was happening but only took action when the matter ended up in court.

According to the “professional poker player”, the LGA had ignored his calls for help for over a year, and allowed Everleaf to continue operating despite the claims against it. The player insisted that the LGA had been reluctant to act but immediately cancelled Everleaf’s licence, once the matter was taken to court in July. He said that many other gamers had experienced the same problem and are expected to file a class action.

He is also claiming that an Everleaf insider had stolen €50,000 from his gamer account and so far he has only been refunded €40,000. He claims he is owed a total of €56,000 in respect of stolen money and winnings. The documents he sent to this paper seem to prove that many calls and emails he sent to the LGA went unanswered.

Back in April, the LGA told this newspaper that the complaints were coming from “non-genuine” players. After terminating Everleaf’s licence, the Authority said that most of the players had been paid, thanks to its intervention. It also said that Everleaf was no longer licensed by them. However, the company’s website still claims to have an LGA licence.

Evidence of the company’s payout refusals and LGA’s “mishandling” of the case has been presented to OLAF, and the EU’s anti-fraud office has confirmed that it has received the documents and will determine if an investigation is warranted. However, OLAF only investigates cases that affect EU institutions or the EU budget, so the case probably does not fall in its remit.