Gambling company Star Racing Limited is set to pay a monetary penalty worth £594,000 as a result of some social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures which occurred in the period between March 2020 and May 2021.
Earlier today, the country’s gambling regulatory body announced that the operator – trading as Star Sports – will not only pay an almost £600,000 fine but will also face some extra conditions added to its operating permit and will receive an official warning.
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) shared that its probe found the gambling company lacked effective policies, procedures and controls in place at the time of the compliance assessment. The operator was also found to have allowed certain consumers to deposit large amounts of money before acquiring the necessary source of funds data and failed to analyse the information from the required affluence checks once it was received.
The gambling industry watchdog further revealed that Star Racing Limited failed to comply with some social responsibility rules and requirements. The company failed to prove it understood the importance and overall impact of effective customer interactions when it comes to the minimisation of gambling-related risks for consumers.
Additional Licence Conditions, Monetary Penalty and UKGC Warning Faced by the Gambling Company
As mentioned above, the regulatory action resulted in additional conditions attached to the gambling company’s operating permit, a financial penalty of £594,000 and an official warning from the UK Gambling Commission. The watchdog made the decision on April 2023, following a probe into the operations of Star Racing Limited, but the official announcement of the regulatory action was only made today.
The gambling operator is set to pay the aforementioned fine under section 121(1) of the country’s Gambling Act 2005. The UKGC is set to attach additional licence conditions to the gambling business’ operating permit under the provisions of section 117(1)(b) of the Gambling Act 2005 associated with the requirement for the company to conduct risk-based due diligence on all third parties it works with. A warning is to be given to the licensee under section 117(1)(a) of the Act.
The country’s gambling watchdog revealed that Star Racing Limited violated Paragraphs 2 and 3 of its licence condition 12.1.1 related to the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. Under the provisions of licence condition 12.1.2, gambling companies based in foreign jurisdictions are currently required to comply with the UK’s Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017. The investigation carried out by the UK Gambling Commission found that the company failed to do so.
Furthermore, Paragraphs 1 and 2 of provision 3.4.1 from the Social Responsibility Code (SRC) require gambling licence holders to make sure they interact with customers in a way that would tackle the risks associated with potential gambling-related harm. Operators are also required to take into account the UK gambling regulator’s guidance on customer interaction.
- Author
Olivia Cole
