The online gambling operator Daub Alderney has been hit by a massive fine imposed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) due to failures to comply with the gambling regulatory body’s rules regarding money laundering prevention and customer protection.
The Executive Director of the UKGC, Richard Watson, revealed that the probe which affected Daub Alderney came as part of a broader ongoing investigation into the online casino industry. Mr. Watson further explained that the operator’s standards did not match the Commission’s requirements in terms of customer protection and reflected the seriousness of these failures.
Daub Alderney to pay £7.1m fine for anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures https://t.co/UsdBvXH9pM pic.twitter.com/X5qc0bwQUa
— Gambling Commission (@GamRegGB) November 13, 2018
As a result of the failures, the gambling company is to pay a total of £7.1 million, and there will also be some extra conditions on its licence to comply with in order to make sure that its gambling services are offered properly to local customers.
Daub Alderney Faces Several Penalties, Including Massive Fine
The beginning of the year saw Daub Alderney Ltd receive notice from the major gambling regulatory body of the UK. On January 12th, 2018, the UKGC informed the operator that its operating licence was being reviewed, with the investigation being started for a number of reasons.
The Commission shared that it had its reasons to suspect that certain activities of the business’ offerings could have been carried out not accordingly to a condition of the company’s licence. Apart from that, the regulator had the suspicion that the company may be unsuitable to carry on the activities it held a licence for and decided that a probe would be appropriate.
Four months after the gambling operator was informed for the investigation, on April 18th, 2018, the case was referred for a decision to the Regulatory Panel of the UKGC. Finally, the Regulatory Panel has found that the gambling operator breached conditions of its licence regarding anti-money laundering measures and failed to comply with the codes of practice related to social responsibility.
A number of penalties have been imposed on Daub Alderney, including a monetary penalty imposed under section 121 of the Act which reflects the overall sum of £7.1 million. In addition, a warning issued by the Regulatory Panel of the UKGC under section 117(1)(a) of the Act. The company will also see additional conditions imposed on its operating licence under section 117(1)(b).
New rules that better protect consumers come into force from 31 October – here’s what you need to know. Watch the full video here: https://t.co/WO67ZKp3Py pic.twitter.com/OMXDqkF45w
— Gambling Commission (@GamRegGB) October 23, 2018
Failures in a Number of Aspects Were Found
As revealed above, the factual matters included in the Case Summary prepared by the Commission were accepted as accurate by the watchdog’s Regulatory Panel.
Back in June/July 2017, UKGC officials involved in the investigation of Daub Alderney’s operations found that the appropriate risk assessment was not in place, a fact of which the company was informed in a letter dated October 5th, 2017. The gambling operator accepted the findings and initiated a risk assessment on its operations.
As far as the company’s compliance with the anti-money laundering measures is concerned, a number of findings emerged during the Commission Officials’ investigation. Based on that, they concluded that the gambling operator had failed to provide the expected customer due diligence. The company once again accepted the accuracy of the findings that at the time of the corporate evaluation it had not been compliant with the Regulations from 2007 and 2017.
Failures in terms of social responsibility code provision (SRCP) compliance regarding customer interaction, self-exclusion and complaints and disputes were also found. Daub Alderney agreed to these, too and faced the actions undertaken by the Regulatory Panel to make things right.
- Author
Olivia Cole
