According to the UK Gambling Commission’s latest press release, Gamesys Operations Limited has faced steep regulatory sanctions worth £6 million due to failure to comply with important rules and regulations.
The gambling business, whose head office address is in Gibraltar, has 16 domain names under its operation in the United Kingdom. Some of the most popular online gambling venues operated by Gamesys include ballycasino.co.uk, doublebubblebingo.com, jackpotcity.com, and megawayscasino.com.
Aside from the regulatory penalty, the operator will be subjected to an audit by a third-party entity to ensure it adheres to the regulatory standards for safer gambling practices.
Following a review of Gamesys’ operations, spanning a period from November 2021 to July 2022, the UKGC concluded the company had not followed rules and regulations concerning social responsibility and Anti-Money Laundering.
The UKGC Lists Gamesys’ Social Responsibility Failures
As far as failings linked to social responsibility are concerned, Gamesys did not manage to identify at-risk gamblers properly and timely. Several individuals during the period of investigation were found to deposit or lose substantial amounts of money, without proper interference by the operator.
Among the Commission’s findings is a customer who managed to deposit £8,255 within three days of registering an account. Yet another one lost £5,968 over five weeks of opening an account. Another customer suffered an even more substantial loss of £17,482 within 34 days of account registration.
According to the Commission’s review, Gamesys failed to interact with some customers who could be considered at-risk gamblers or ones experiencing gambling-associated harms. During the said period, the operator approached a customer who had lost nearly £10,000. However, instead of having a responsible gambling interaction, the operator offered new games and promotions, potentially luring them into new losses. The UKGC also indicated another social responsibility failure concerning a customer who lost £19,709 within five months.
Gamesys Fails to Comply with AML Policies
Besides the above-mentioned social responsibility failures, the Commission exposed some serious shortcomings concerning Gamesys’ AML practices.
Customers of the gambling operator were able to evade AML triggers and deposit large amounts of money without proper checks. Among some of the examples were deposits worth £14,585 in 28 weeks, £18,884 in 6 months, and £34,280 in five and a half months.
Furthermore, the operator was censured due to over-reliance on third-party information as regards customer due diligence. In some of the instances, customers were able to deposit more than £25,000 in three months, over £58,000 in six months, and over £65,000 in six months.
Last but not least, the operator’s ‘Policy for the reinvestment of winnings’ was deemed inadequate for ensuring deposited funds came from legitimate sources.
Kay Roberts, Executive Director of Operations at the Gambling Commission commented on the regulator’s approach to licensees, underlining its commitment to ensuring they abide by safe and transparent gambling policies and procedures. She added that whenever the Commission found fault with any of these practices, gambling operators could “expect significant regulatory action”.
- Author
Daniel Williams
