Gambling Commission hands out £3.4m fine to negligent casino operator

The Gambling Commission (UKGC), the body responsible for British gambling licenses, is fining a casino operator £3.4m for not abiding by its standards. 

Online casino multi-brand operator In Touch Games will pay the £3.4m sum and must undergo extensive auditing after a series of failings were uncovered by the UKGC.

In Touch Games owns several online casino brands, including MFortune, MrSpin, CashMo, PocketWin, and SlotFactory.

The UKGC is a not-for-profit organisation that operates with the best interests of the players in mind. It is responsible for providing gambling licences to companies that behave in a fair and responsible manner, and these licences are a legal requirement for any casino or gambling company wishing to operate in the UK. 

The violations In Touch were found to have made were the part of the UKGC’s Social Responsibility Code as well as failing to prevent money laundering.

Firstly, the Social Resposibity violations included a failure to intervene on seven customers’ gamepay amid concerns that their behaviour was not responsible gambling.

The Commission argued In Touch should have given more consideration to limiting deposits to their accounts. You can learn more about how to control your spending at an online casino here.

Its anti-money laundering risk assessments were also found to be lacking. This was down to the operator failing to take into account risks associated with allowing customers to use a payment provider that also acts as an exchange for cryptocurrencies. In addition, it did not conduct appropriate checks on the source of funds, to make sure that players were using their own money.

The operator’s marketing also came under scrutiny, as it failed to be “fair and transparent”, when it was found a marketing text did not state minimum and maximum deposits, nor time limits for the offer in question.

As a result of these failings, In Touch must pay a £3.4m fine and, at its own expense, bring in an independent body to carry out an audit to make sure that it is fully compliant with the licence conditions and codes of practice.

What do we think?

Seeing the UKGC holding operators accountable for bad practice is a good thing. This story legitimises the sanctity of gambling licenses in the UK and proves they are work to make sure casinos are regulated and player’s best interests are taken care of.