Casumo a “wiser and stronger company” following UKGC fine, CEO says

Casumo today said it has emerged “a wiser and stronger company” during the process that led to its £5.85m fine for social responsibility and AML failings from the UK Gambling Commission.

CEO Oscar Simonsson also said the Malta-based operator was “committed to good corporate governance” and had made a number of high-level compliance hires.

“In the past year we have made several key staff appointments to our legal and compliance teams, have invested in automated technology to identify and assess potential risks and have worked with some of the world’s leading experts on behavioural addictions on internal processes and external tools,” Simmonsson said in a statement this morning.

Simonsson was himself, and money laundering reporting officer Matthew Borg Manche, added to the UKGC’s personal licence regulatory sanctions register.

The register said the CEO had failed to ensure effective AML processes were in place and being adhered to.

The UKGC added: “We should make it clear that we do not hold Mr Simonsson solely accountable for the failings which were systemic within the business. Mr Simonsson has been open, transparent and co-operative throughout the engagement and has since Casumo’s assessment pro-actively put remedial provisions in place to mitigate the risk to the licensing objectives.”

The operator said it has since launched responsible gambling website Casumo Cares, which enables players to set limits and self-exclude as well as test for risk behaviours.

Meanwhile, casino operator Videoslots also acknowledged its own failings this morning and a spokesperson for Videoslots said: “We have entered a regulatory settlement with the Gambling Commission of Great Britain and agreed to make a voluntary settlement in lieu of a financial penalty. It is important to make clear that the regulatory settlement is distinct from a package of formal sanctions, and as such the payment is not a fine and is not recorded as a sanction.

“Our payment will go to a National Responsible Gambling Strategy project or projects to pay for research and treatment as determined appropriate to address the risk of harmful gambling.

“The Commission’s investigations were part of its thematic review into money laundering and responsible gambling compliance in the remote gambling industry. We are pleased that the Gambling Commission recognises that we were open and transparent and fully cooperative throughout.

“We had already started making changes prior to the Commission’s review and took proactive and timely action to address weaknesses in our systems relating to how we managed our customers for anti-money laundering and social responsibility purposes.”

The operator said its £1m payment in lieu of a financial penalty will go to a National Responsible Gambling Strategy project or projects to pay for research and treatment around harmful gambling.

Partner at UK law firm, Joelson, Richard Williams said it was interesting to see that the Commission is focussing its attention on Personal Licence Holders (PML).

“In this climate, the operators who have just been given advice as to conduct and warnings will be grateful,” Williams said.

“This will not be the end of it – the long term impact will be on profits, as dirty money and irresponsible play are driven out of the system. There is more regulatory action is in the pipeline.”

Another gaming industry lawyer speaking off the record said the personal warnings were a “potentially detrimental” for the executives involved.

“It could have an impact on their ability to get licenced in other jurisdictions in the future,” the lawyer said.