Casumo and Videoslots management under regulatory scrutiny after UKGC crackdown
UKGC pledges to “hold individuals to account” after Casumo and Videoslots cough up £5.85m and £1m respectively for social responsibility and AML failings
Casumo and Videoslots will pay nearly £7m as part of a wider Gambling Commission investigation that has seen the regulator take action against senior management at UK online casino operators.
The regulator this morning announced Casumo will pay a financial penalty of £5.85m and Videoslots will pay £1m in lieu of a financial penalty following licence reviews into social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) failings.
As part of the investigation, another operator, CZ Holdings, has surrendered its licence and will no longer be able to provide gambling services in the UK, while the regulator said three Personal Licence Holders (PML) have surrendered their licences as part of regulatory action against individuals.
Four individuals have also been issued with warnings and a further three who hold PMLs are still under investigation.
Neil McArthur, CEO of the Gambling Commission, said: “I hope today’s announcement will make all online casino operators sit up and pay attention, as our investigations found that a large number of operators and their senior management were not meeting their obligations.
“It is not enough to have policies and procedures in place. Everyone in a gambling business must understand its policies and procedures and take responsibility for properly applying them.
“Anyone in a position of authority needs to be aware that we will not only act against businesses when we take regulatory action – we will also hold individuals to account where they are responsible for an operator’s failings.”
The penalties are part of a wider industry investigation into the UK online casino sector which saw the Gambling Commission recently order Stride Gaming’s Daub Alderney subsidiary to pay a financial penalty of £7.1m after failures in its automated system allowed self-excluded customers to open and access their accounts.
A further six companies are still under investigation.
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.”
Jeremy Wright, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, added: “Any online operator that thinks it can ignore its duty to protect players should take note today – there will be consequences. Protecting vulnerable consumers is our prime concern, and it must be the priority for gambling operators too.
“There are robust requirements to safeguard players and prevent money-laundering which all businesses must adhere to if they wish to operate in the British market. I am pleased to see the Gambling Commission taking the strongest possible action when companies fail to meet their obligations.”
For more information on the investigation, you can read the Gambling Commission’s announcement here.
You can also read statements from Casumo and Videoslots here.
The above article is an updated version of the original to reflect that Videoslots was not fined and had reached a voluntary regulatory settlement with the Gambling Commission.