Due to the lack of tools that prevent money laundering and protect players from gambling addiction, three companies will have to pay £14m in penalties in total. As a result of license reviews, Daub Alderney has been fined £7.1 by the Commission. Casumo and Videoslots have also been ordered to pay penalties—£5.85m and £1m respectively.
Another company, named CZ Holdings, surrendered a license after a review had started and will no longer be able to provide gambling services to players from the UK. Nine online casinos have received letters demanding corrective actions and six other are still under investigation.
The Commission has also taken regulatory actions against the individuals responsible for the violations. Three personal licenses have been canceled; four licensees have been issued a warning and two have been sent letters explaining good business practices. Three other personal license holders are still under investigation.
Neil McArthur, Gambling Commission CEO, said: “I hope today’s announcement will make all online casino operators sit up and pay attention, as our investigations found that a large number of operators and their senior management were not meeting their obligations.”
He specified that it is not enough to just enact policies and procedures. Everyone in a gambling business must understand them and take responsibility for properly applying them. The CEO stated, “We expect operators to know their customers and to ask the right questions to make sure they meet their anti-money laundering and social responsibility obligations.”
Mr McArthur added: “Anyone in a position of authority needs to be aware that we will not only act against businesses when we take regulatory action – we will also hold individuals to account where they are responsible for an operator’s failings.”
Jeremy Wright, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: “Any online operator that thinks it can ignore its duty to protect players should take note today – there will be consequences. Protecting vulnerable consumers is our prime concern, and it must be the priority for gambling operators too…There are robust requirements to safeguard players and prevent money-laundering which all businesses must adhere to if they wish to operate in the British market. I am pleased to see the Gambling Commission taking the strongest possible action when companies fail to meet their obligations.”
It should be pointed out that this is not the first time the British regulator has fallen back on such drastic measures against online casinos; however, penalties of this size have been issued for the first time ever. For instance, in January 2018 warnings were sent to 17 operators. They were urged to revise their policies towards legalization of illegal income, terrorism financing and gambling addiction. The UK Gambling Commission representatives at that time said that operators did not report suspicious transactions to law enforcement authorities (e.g. National Crime Agency).
Also, online casinos do not bother to react if a user shows signs of addiction. Regulator’s experts examined players’ profiles and in some cases there definitely was a propensity for gambling. At the start of 2018, five casinos could have lost their licenses but they managed to address the violations in time.
This news will without a doubt have a sobering effect on those casino owners who, for the sake of profit, forget about people with addiction and the fact that a online casino should not be a money laundering platform.
