Social responsibility failures

For its social responsibility failures, Rank Digital Gaming (Alderney) Limited (well known for several online casinos) has been fined with a regulatory settlement of £700,557 ($954,275). Meccagames.com, meccabingo.com, grosvenorcasino.com, and bellacasino.com are all websites that are owned by the operator.

The second fine was sent to Annexio (Jersey) Limited, which operates under the brand lottogo.com. They were fined £612,000 ($833,645) for social responsibility violations and money laundering. The proceeds from these penalties will be used to fund the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms. Both firms cooperated with the UKGC’s investigations and took the appropriate actions to address the concerns, according to the UKGC.

A lack of sufficient procedures

The UKGC published comments to the public to offer particular facts about both operators’ failures. The infractions committed by Rank Digital Gaming took place between October 2019 and February 2021. Following a compliance examination, the UKGC detected shortcomings, prompting the start of a regulatory investigation on May 27, 2021.

Customer support problems, a lack of sufficient procedures to detect duplicate accounts, and a failure to prevent Rank self-excluders from registering themselves on one of Rank’s sites were among the concerns.

The investigation into Annexio started on April 14, 2021, and violations were uncovered between October 2019 and November 2021. Anti-money laundering measures, controls, and policies were improperly implemented, among other issues. There were additional flaws in the company’s responsible gambling measures, protocols, and enforcement. Lastly, the UKGC pointed out certain flaws in Annexio’s reporting procedures.

Highly concerned

Helen Venn, executive director of the UKGC, spoke about the two penalties, and said: “We expect high standards from operators to ensure gambling in Britain is safe and crime free. Those businesses that fail to meet these standards will find themselves facing costly regulatory action.”

The UKGC is highly concerned about the issues, specifically those of social responsibility and anti-money laundering. The majority of the penalties it issues are related to one or both of these issues. Operators have a duty to safeguard vulnerable players, and there has never been a greater awareness of the hazards involved with wagering online. There’s also the possible risk of criminals laundering money via online casino operators.

Following a rigorous examination of the Gambling Act 2005, the UK government is preparing a white paper with proposed changes to online gambling policies. The paper will be published in spring of 2022. As the government’s evaluation of gambling regulations in the United Kingdom comes to a completion, several changes are expected for operators. This is expected to include additional safeguards to protect those who gamble online, such as more thorough affordability checks.