The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) published a special information notice advising gambling operators to make sure they provide their customers with fair and transparent conditions of their bonus promotions. According to the country’s regulatory body, gambling companies could learn an important lesson from the failures of TGP Europe Ltd and Fesuge Ltd, and more specifically from the last year’s “bonus abuse disruptions” related to the websites of the Isle of Man-based TPG Europe.
The UK gambling regulator published a public statement, encouraging the country’s gambling operators to get familiar with the details of the Gambling Commission’s findings associated with the failings related to a Cheltenham Festival bonus offer. According to the Commission, this was important in order to make sure that bonus promotions’ terms and conditions are fair to customers. The latter, on the other hand, should be able to understand the terms in question without any difficulties.
The UK Gambling Commission also recommended that the companies should act quickly in case that a customer’s disadvantage or loss is identified, especially when it comes to complaints.
Almost twelve months ago, in April 2016, more than 5,000 customer accounts got suspended at a total of four betting websites of the company’s suite, including TLCBet, Fun88, 12Bet and 139.com. The reason for the suspension was what the aforementioned companies recognised as bonus offers abuse, associated with the last year’s edition of the Cheltenham racing festival.
At the time of the Cheltenham festival – from March 15th to March 18th, 2016 – both TGP Europe and Fesuge released special bonus offers on the above-mentioned four gambling brands which operate under remote gambling license to date. Both newly-signed and already existing customers were offered certain bonuses thanks to the promotion, and of course, multiple accounts were forbidden.
The two companies, however, decided that a large number of bets had not been placed in line with clause 15.2 of their terms, so as a result more than 5,000 customers accounts got suspended. The UK Gambling Commission was, of course, notified of the case by both TGP Europe and Fesuge and a large number of individuals.
The UK Gambling Commission revealed that it has worked in close collaboration with the regulatory authority of the Isle of Man, as well as with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for solving the case. The Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS) was also involved in the process.
Finally, the two companies confessed that the way they had handled the case had turned out to be inefficient. In addition, both TGP and Fesuge shared that the bonus promotion terms were not clear enough for customers, and did not actually provide a thorough definition of “bonus abuse”.
The Gambling Commission found that the two companies failed to implement terms within the meaning of the Consumer Rights Act of 2015 (CRA). In addition, it made a recommendation for all gambling operating license holders to make sure they clarify all terms and conditions of their bonus offers in order to avoid similar situations. According to the UK gambling regulatory body, the case provided valuable learning for both land-based and online casino, betting and gaming operators, and urged them to make sure their terms and conditions are in line with the requirements of the Consumer Rights Act of 2015 CRA and the License Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP).
- Author
Daniel Williams
