Today, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) provided reasoning for the suspension of the online gambling business Triplebet’s operating licence that was announced earlier in 2020.
As Casino Guardian reported at the time, Triplebet, which operated a remote casino and a betting exchange under the Matchbook branding, had its operating licence suspended with immediate effect on February 17th. The measure was unveiled as part of a larger regulatory package of sanctions for money laundering and social responsibility failures of some gambling businesses across the country.
The probe carried out by UKGC investigators unveiled some serious failures in the approach that was used by the gambling company in terms of its due diligence checks into members of gambling syndicates, anti-money laundering policies and business relationships monitoring.
Apart from that, there were serious failures in the operator’s approach to social responsibility measures. Some gamblers have reported that they were allowed to gamble large sums of money for a couple of days without any interaction on the company’s side, while others shared they faced no measures when reopening their account after six-month self-exclusion followed by gambling a large sum for several hours.
The UK gambling regulator revealed that Triplebet’s licence will remain suspended until the company manages to provide proof that it has adopted the special measures required by the watchdog. Apart from that, the gambling business is to face a monetary fine of £740,000.
UK Gambling Watchdog Continues to Require Maximum Player Protection
Neil McArthur, chief executive officer of the UKGC, reminded that the regulator had repeatedly made it clear that player protection must be placed as a priority for gambling companies, which are required to make sure that their activities and policies provide efficient anti-money laundering processes and procedures.
Mr McArthur further noted that the Commission would proceed to use its regulatory powers to monitor and control the UK gambling sector in terms of suspension and revocation of licences in order to make sure that British gamblers and the wider public are protected against gambling-related harm.
A Triplebet spokesperson said:
Triplebet welcomes the conclusion of the UKGC’s two-year review. Through working with the experienced compliance consultants we appointed in the middle of last year, and in spite of the impact of Covid-19 on our industry, we have already implemented all of their recommendations. We are committed to upholding every aspect of the UKGC regulations, and we are proud of all the hard work our teams have put in to get us to these final stages. We are excited about relaunching for our UK customers, who tell us they are looking forward to our return.
Since January 2020, the UKGC has suspended a number of gambling operating licences. Addison Global Limited, Stakers Limited and International Multi-Media Entertainments Limited were the companies subject to licence suspension due to continuous failures related to social responsibility and anti-money laundering policies. Apart from that, last week the UKGC revealed that it suspended the operating licences of two online gambling companies for their failure to fully adopt the self-exclusion scheme GAMSTOP.
Back in January, the UK gambling watchdog informed all online gambling companies that offer their services to local customers that their participation in GAMSTOP would be obligatory by March 31st in order for them to keep their licences. Last week, the UKGC announced its decision to suspend the licences of Sportito and Dynamic, trading as Prophet.
- Author
Olivia Cole
