The Gambling Commission has fined Bally’s-owned Gamesys Operations Limited £6m for anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures.
The operator will now be required to engage in a third-party audit to ensure it is effectively implementing its AML and safer gambling policies, procedures and controls.
Gamesys operates four UK-facing iGaming sites in Ballycasino.co.uk, Jackpotjoy.com, Doublebubblebingo.com and Megawayscasino.com.
The business’ gaming licence also covers a further 12 sites, via a white-label agreement with the operator, including Virgingames.com and Heartbingo.co.uk.
UKGC executive director of operations Kay Roberts said: “Our focus as a regulator is to ensure that operators are employing policies and procedures which make gambling fair, safe and crime-free.
“We take this responsibility extremely seriously and whenever we find failures in policies and procedures then the business can expect significant regulatory action,” she added.
Social responsibility failures
Gamesys relied on “inappropriate” checks involving whether a player had agreed to a debt restructuring agreement or was otherwise insolvent.
The UKGC also highlighted the operator’s deposit limits often did not identify risks of harm fast enough.
For example, no alarms were triggered when one customer lost £17,482 within 34 days of opening an account, while another deposited £8,255 within three days of opening their account.
The regulator also lambasted Gamesys for not always interacting with consumers that were exhibiting signs of problem gambling.
One customer was only contacted by Gamesys after they had already lost almost £10,000. The UKGC then discovered this “responsible gambling interaction” saw the operator recommend new games and promotions.
Another player only saw one interaction from Gamesys despite losing £19,709 over five months.
The Gambling Commission also ruled that records of interactions and the rationale for decisions were not always recorded in sufficient detail, despite being a UK licensing condition.
Lack of sufficient AML checks
The UKGC further criticised Gamesys for allowing customers to evade its AML triggers and thresholds.
Examples include one customer who deposited £14,585 in a 28-week period, and another that deposited £34,280 over five and a half months.
On the checks that were conducted, Gamesys engaged in “inadequate” customer due diligence and was over-reliant on third party information, such as the internet, or customer’s verbal assurances, according to the Commission.
This includes in the case of one customer that deposited £65,000 over six months.
The firm’s “reinvestment of winnings policy” was also reportedly “insufficient” to effectively mitigate the risks that the funds were from illegal income.
UKGC 2023 in enforcement
Last year was a busy time for British enforcement, with the UKGC continuing to act as one of the most punitive regulators in the world.
From January to December 2023, the regulator levied more than £41.4m in fines and regulatory actions.
This is a slight decline from the approximately £44.6m levied by the Commission in 2022, despite including a record £19.2m regulatory action imposed on 888-owned William Hill.
In that case, the breaches were so widespread and alarming that “serious consideration” was given to licence suspension, according to UKGC CEO Andrew Rhodes.
In September, the regulator did take the step of suspending the licence of In Touch Games for failing to adhere to its licensing conditions.
Breaches in that case also related to money laundering, fair and transparent terms and practices, and the reporting of key events.
Going forward, the regulator has opened a consultation into financial penalties in a move that could see enforcement action become more predictable and transparent.
However, under the question being consulted on by the Commission, operators could be liable for up to 15% of GGY for the most serious breaches.
