The UK Gambling Commission has fined four online gambling companies more than $5.7 million for failing to put in place effective safeguards to prevent money laundering and keep consumers safe from gambling harm.
The fines were assessed against InTouch Games Limited, which will pay £2.2 million (USD 2.8 M), Betit Operations Limited which will pay £1.4 million (USD 1.8 M), MT Secure Trade which will pay £700,000 (USD 900,000) in lieu of financial penalties, and BestBet which will pay a financial penalty of £230,972 (USD 297,000).
The commission said in a press release that over the last 18 months, it has conducted assessments of, or engaged with, 123 online operators. A total of 45 were told to submit an action plan to raise standards and 38 of those have already shown signs of improvement. A further 34 were compliant with standards expected by the Commission or had minor issues which have been, or are in the process of being, remedied.
Since the investigation began, five operators have surrendered their license and can no longer transact with consumers in Britain. Also, in November 2018 three companies paid nearly £14m in penalty packages as a result of their failings to put in place effective safeguards to prevent money laundering and keep consumers safe from gambling-related harm, the release said.
“We have been working hard to raise standards in the online industry to ensure that gambling is crime-free and that the one in five people in Britain who gamble online every month can do so safely,” said Richard Watson, Gambling Commission executive director in the release. “But our work will not stop here. As a regulator, we will continue to set and enforce standards that the industry must comply with to protect consumers. 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.”
In another UK matter, GambleAware, the UK’s advocate for problem gamblers, said it will invest an additional £3.9m to combat problem gambling. The money will be used to expand the National Gambling Treatment Service through GamCare and its network of partners across Great Britain.
The investment will be made over three years, with funds split across a number of initiatives. Most of the money (£2.35m) will be used to expand the provision of face-to-face treatment services in England, Scotland and Wales, the advocate said in a press release.
A total of £705,000 will help the National Gambling Helpline provide advice and brief interventions to more people, while £435,000 will be spent on offering computerized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy where clinically appropriate. In addition, £438,000 of the total investment will go towards developing peer support so that people who are recovering from gambling addiction can help others to access treatment and aftercare, the release said.
“This announcement reflects a commitment by GambleAware to take a strategic approach to commissioning treatment services, to give people the help that they need to tackle the hidden addiction of problem gambling, and to improve the quality of life for them and their families,” GambleAware chief executive, Marc Etches, said. “This significant expansion of the existing National Gambling Treatment Service demonstrates the shared commitment between GambleAware and GamCare, as commissioner and prime provider respectively, to make a real difference to people’s lives, by reducing barriers to treatment and increasing the capacity in the treatment system.”
