The company, which operates buzzbingo.com, has received a formal warning and penalty fee from the regulator for social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) failures.
According to the Commission, these occurred between October 2019 and December 2020, and included not sufficiently identifying at-risk players, an over reliance on open source and anecdotal evidence when determining a player’s source of funds and insufficient record keeping in regard to AML interactions.
One customer was reportedly able to deposit £22,400 in five days without a “meaningful interaction” from the operator. And in another instance, a customer deposited and lost £12,400 during a six-day period, but Buzz Group’s only record of an interaction simply stated the customer was “coping well in Covid-19”.
The operator also deemed one customer’s large win suitable coverage for future spend, without considering that it may not have been recycled winnings, but the proceeds of crime.
“As a regulator we expect all operators to effectively implement policies and procedures which make gambling safe and crime-free,” said Helen Venn, Gambling Commission Executive Director.
“Every single gambling business should be aware that we do check that these are in place and are being adhered to. If they are not, we will take action.”
However, the Commission acknowledged that Buzz Group was cooperative during its investigation and took corrective steps to address the identified failings.
It reiterated that the case against Buzz Group, like other recent enforcement actions, was the result of planned compliance activity.
