Playtech ups charitable contribution to match £3.5m unpaid subsidiary UKGC fine

Playtech’s board has said the company will increase its PT Entertainment Services Limited (PTES) Gambling Commission (UKGC) financial settlement to match the full unpaid £3.5m regulatory penalty.

The London-Listed supplier said it accepted full responsibility for the historic regulatory breaches identified by the UKGC at its PTES subsidiary between 2015-17 and said they were “not reflective” of the company’s current conduct.

Earlier this week, the UKGC revealed the regulatory breaches, which included failings in PTES VIP programmes, social responsibility practices and anti-money laundering procedures.

The breaches were identified after a UKGC investigation into the PTES business following the suicide of a 25-year-old player who had lost more than £30,000 over a four-month period.

However, the £3.5m fine, which would have been paid by the business in respect of the investigation, was never levied, with PTES surrendering its UK licence.

PTES Titanbet.co uk brand was discontinued in August 2018, with the Winner.co.uk brand being initially closed to players in February 2019 before being officially shut down in June 2019.

Playtech said the decision to discontinue the brands was made prior to the start of the UKGC investigation as part of a strategic decision to focus the Group’s efforts on B2B activities in the UK.

EGR understands that the PTES licence actually expired in October 2019, with the UKGC being made aware from April 2019 that this licence would not be renewed.

It is understood that PTES cooperated fully with the UKGC and had agreed to honour any settlement even if its licence had expired.

In October 2019, its PTES subsidiary agreed a regulatory settlement of £619,395 to be paid to charity following the UKGC review, with the money going to charities working on the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms.

Prior to the surrender of its operating licence, PTES made a number of financial settlement offers which the UKGC said it regarded as “seriously deficient”.

However EGR understands that settlements were intially agreed between the two, with the UKGC later reneging on the agreement. In this case, a settlement agreement was reached for a substantially lower amount, but was later discontinued.

Despite the licence expiring in October 2019, sources at PTES have said the UKGC requested the full surrender of the UK licence, which later took place in November.

Playtech confirmed it had undertaken a high-level review of the firm’s position on the matter, led by newly appointed Playtech interim chairman Claire Milne.

In a statement, Playtech said: “The Board extends its deepest sympathies to the family of Chris Bruney following the tragic event of his death. Claire Milne will be contacting the family to apologise personally for the regulatory breaches and to offer her condolences on behalf of the Board and everyone at Playtech.”

Speaking about the case, Milne said Playtech was committed to raising industry standards on safer gambling and would be focusing on this objective going forward.

“The findings of this investigation do not reflect where Playtech stands today. But while the company has made many positive and important changes, we feel it is only right for us to recognise these historic failings by offering this increased amount,” said Milne.

“In speaking with many of our stakeholders, it was clear they felt the failings were not representative of the Playtech they know. Through this action, we want to send a message to them and the wider industry of who we are today and aspire to be,” Milne added.

These sentiments were echoed by Playtech CEO Mor Weizer, who said the company had invested significantly to ensure these types of breaches did not reoccur, including in addressing specific issues raised by the UKGC.

The £3.5m settlement will be in addition to Playtech’s existing £5m pledge made earlier this year to five key areas to promote better understanding of ‘healthy online living’ and the relationship between mental health and online gambling.