SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has issued a reminder to its remote operating licence holders regarding their obligations relating to compliance when operating gambling websites, including white labelled sites.
The regulator has warned white label solutions providers that they hold the responsibility for the actions of their clients and that requirements on compliance – ‘cannot be transferred to any other party.’
The regulator emphasised guidelines stated under Provision 1.1.2 of the Social Responsibility Code, part of its Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, which emphasises that ‘licensees are responsible for the third parties that they contract with.’
The guidelines also highlight that licensees must ‘ensure that any contracted third parties conduct themselves in so far as they carry out activities on behalf of the licensee as if they were bound by the same licence conditions and subject to the same codes of practice as the licensee.’
Planning to issue further guidelines within the coming months, the UKGC has stressed that ‘licensees will obtain the necessary assurance by conducting adequate due diligence on the third party to ensure (amongst other things) that they are competent and reliable’.
It added that ‘any licensee that relies on a third party to conduct any aspect of the licensee’s business related to the licensed activities must ensure it has sufficient oversight and controls in place to ensure that all activities are carried out in accordance with the LCCP’, with particular emphasis placed upon requirements relating to social responsibility and anti-money laundering.
The news comes swiftly after the UKGC confirmed the licence suspension of industry platform and systems supplier EveryMatrix Ltd, which was enforced with immediate effect.
The UKGC came to the decision following a review of ‘compliance activity’ examining the technology incumbent’s ‘customer interaction frameworks’.
