The UK Gambling Commission revealed that it has suspended an online gambling company from transacting with British customers after the operator failed to participate in GAMSTOP, the country’s safer gambling self-exclusion scheme.
As of November 3rd, 2022, LEBOM Limited, which trades from the lebom.app platform, has been suspended from operating with immediate effect until the UKGC gets proof that the company has fully integrated the GAMSTOP scheme. Furthermore, the gambling watchdog unveiled that it has rolled out a review of LEBOM’s operating permit under section 116 of the UK Gambling Act of 2005.
The Gambling Commission has informed LEBOM Limited that during the course of its licence suspension, the company is expected to remain focused on treating its customers in a fair manner. The gambling operator is also expected to keep its users fully informed of any developments that may affect them.
The suspension of LEBOM Limited’s operating permit No. 057417-R-333051-002 does not prevent the gambling company from allowing its customers to access their accounts and withdraw their potential winnings.
As Casino Guardian previously reported, the self-exclusion scheme GAMSTOP has been especially aimed at people who find it hard to control their gambling habits and need some help to stop. Two years ago, in 2020, the UK gambling regulatory body made it mandatory for all online gambling operators who target British customers to implement the scheme in order to guarantee better protection for local gamblers.
GAMSTOP Self-Exclusion Services Unveiled to Help Problem Gamblers in the UK
The UK gambling regulatory body’s Executive Director of Operations, Kay Roberts, has highlighted the fact that GAMSTOP provides a self-exclusion service that turns out to be extremely important for people who know they are suffering the negative effects of gambling-related harm. This is why the UKGC finds it totally unacceptable for any online gambling company to fail to participate in the scheme and make sure its customers are well-protected against gambling-related harm.
The UKGC has already demonstrated its determination to enforce stricter rules and sanction gambling companies that do not operate in line with the obligations they have under the existing legislative framework. So far, the Gambling Commission has imposed hefty fines on some of the biggest online gambling operators in the country, including Entain, Betway, Smarkets, etc.
Most recently, in September 2022, the country’s gambling regulator imposed a fine worth £408,915 on Betway, a popular sports betting brand for the company’s alleged promotion of products to underage audiences by adding its hyperlink logo on children’s pages on the website of West Ham United F.C.
Only a month beforehand, in August, the Gambling Commission ordered the betting and gaming giant Entain to pay a £17-million fine after the operator was found to have failed to stay in line with some anti-money laundering procedures and social responsibility obligations. And in July, another online gambling company – Smarkets – suffered a regulatory backlash after the UKGC slapped it with a £630,000 sanction, a formal warning, and an order for an independent audit due to anti-money laundering and social responsibility violations.
- Author
Olivia Cole
