SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has issued a £6m penalty against Gamesys following an investigation revealing social responsibility and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) failings.
The £6m penalty has been imposed on the business entity Gamesys Operations Limited, the multi-brand operator of 16 websites including Ballycasino.co.uk, Doublebubblebingo.com, Jackpotjoy.com, and Megawayscasino.com.
As part of the settlement, Gamesys will have to undertake a “third-party audit to ensure it is effectively implementing its anti-money laundering and safer gambling policies, procedures, and controls.”
Gamesys failures were identified during a Commission compliance assessment in May 2022.
As detailed by the Commission’s investigation, Gamesys Social Responsibility failures involved insufficient identification of customers at risk of gambling harm and an ineffective system of deposit limits.
Additionally, there was an over-reliance on customers’ past financial issues as harm indicators, poor interaction with at-risk customers, and inadequate documentation of such interactions and decision-making processes.
On AML duties, the investigation cited notable failings as customers were able to bypass the licensee’s Anti-Money Laundering triggers and thresholds, leading to significant unmonitored spending.
As reported, “one customer deposited £14,585 in 28 weeks, another £18,884 in over six months, and a third £34,280 in five and a half months.”
Gamesys was further charged with inadequate due diligence on customers, as compliance teams relied too heavily on third-party information or verbal assurances. Deficiencies were evident in cases where customers deposited substantial amounts over short periods, such as over £25,000 in three months, over £58,000 in six months, and over £65,000 in six months.
The investigation further determined that Gamesys had an ineffective ‘Reinvestment of Winnings‘ Policy, which is an AML due diligence safeguard necessary to mitigate the risk that deposited funds could be from illegitimate sources and not just from previous winnings.
Kay Roberts, Executive Director of Operations, said: “Our focus as a regulator is to ensure that operators are employing policies and procedures which make gambling fair, safe and crime-free. We take this responsibility extremely seriously and whenever we find failures in policies and procedures then the business can expect significant regulatory action.”
