The British online casino operator BGO Entertainment revealed it is selling its casino database in the UK. The move comes after the company saw its operating licence suspended by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) in October.
After spending 9 active years in the UK market, the online gambling company is now exiting the country, with representatives of BGO Entertainment revealing that it no longer made sense for it to continue operating in a regulated market where fines were inconsistent with the size of the business. In an official statement, the company confirmed that it had surrendered its license after 9 successful years in the UK. The online gambling company also said that was the right decision to protect its staff, players and affiliate partners from potential default.
Players who do not reside in the UK are still able to access the bgo.com domain, while British residents will be able to continue accessing the platform’s banking facilities, but not the operator’s games. As BGO revealed in its report, its domain will be available for sale.
BGO Leaves the UK Gambling Market After Suspension of Operating Licence
Although the nine years spent by BGO Entertainment in the UK regulated market were described as successful by the online gambling operator’s executives, the company sometimes faced some hefty monetary penalties.
Only a month ago, the company got under attack by local gambling regulatory authorities. The latest investigation into the online gambling operator’s business found that BGO Entertainment had violated consumer protection regulations and made the UKGC decide to suspend its operating licence. As a result, the online gambling company gave up on its presence in the regulated UK gambling market.
Currently, the customer base of BGO’s operating brands in the country has 430,000 active accounts. It is available for purchase in case another operator is willing to take over. As reported by BGO Entertainment, it has earned about £300 million during its operation in the UK.
As reported by Casino Guardian at the time, the operating licence of BGO Entertainment was suspended with immediate effect by the country’s gambling watchdog as a result of a review that was carried out by the UKGC officers into the company under Section 116 of the Gambling Act of 2005. The UK Gambling Commission found that the company’s failure to ensure the expected customer protection had been a key consideration in its decision to initiate the review.
UKGC Tightening Regulatory Rules and Imposing Hefty Fines on Local Gambling Operators
For the time being, the UK has one of the strictest responsible gambling frameworks not only in Europe but also on a global scale. The main objective of this framework is to tackle gambling addiction rates in the country.
According to studies, less than 4% of the British population could be categorised as problem gamblers, according to repeated studies.
Some gambling companies in the UK have found it hard to deal with the constantly tightening regulatory regime. Back in 2017, the country’s gambling regulator unveiled a 3-year plan aimed at making the gambling sector fairer and safer, and in the past April, announced a new 3-year plan to improve its oversight of the sector.
Most gambling companies have been willing to keep their operating licences despite being under the threat of fines or other penalties. However, some operators have decided that the risks associated with the strict regulation are not justified and decided to leave the country and stop targeting British customers.
Although the UKGC has been imposing hefty fines on operators that fail to stay in line with the country’s gambling legislation, its activity has also been called into question. Recently, an investigation has been rolled out by the All-Party Parliamentary Betting and Gaming Group to determine whether the Commission have been regulating the industry as intended.
- Author
Olivia Cole
