The UK Gambling commission has levied a £600,000 fine against LeoVegas for a series of transactions, most of which involved accepting bets from gamblers who had placed themselves on voluntary exclusion lists.
Problem gamblers can place themselves on exclusion lists to block their ability to place bets. The commission has been cracking down on how sites administer the lists and has also fined SkyBet and 888 for inadequate self-exclusion schemes over the past six months.
The commission found that 1,894 LeoVegas customers were sent marketing material despite being on the self-exclusion lists. More than 400 customers were allowed to bet £200,000 over two months, without the company contacting them or applying a 24-hour “cooling-off” period, the commission said in a press release.
The commission also found that LeoVegas failed to return funds deposited by 11,205 customers who chose to self-exclude and close their account. LeoVegas will return more than £14,000 to the customers as part of the settlement, the release said.
The penalty also covered 41 misleading advertisements for LeoVegas that aired between April 2017 and January 2018. The ads included did not disclose restrictions on certain promotions.
“The outcome of this case should leave no one in any doubt that we will be tough with licenses holders who mislead consumers or fail to meet the standards we set in our license conditions and codes of practice,” said Neil McArthur, Gambling Commission chief executive in the release. “We want operators to learn the lessons from our investigations and use those lessons to raise standards.”
In another matter, the commission has released a 12-month strategy to increase consumer protections for online gambling.
The moves are part of the commission’s latest business plan and renew a commitment to protect the interests of consumers, prevent harm to consumers and the public, raise standards in the gambling market, optimize returns to charities and improve regulation.
“Our ambitious plans for the next 12 months and beyond are designed to enable us to continue to respond to emerging risks and issues in a way that balances consumer choice and enjoyment with the risks associated with gambling, and the impact on wider society,” said William Moyes, chair of the commission in a press release. “Our strategy and plans will deliver real change for consumers, the gambling industry and for us as the regulator. Our aim is to make gambling fairer and safer and to raise standards across the industry.”
