Online gaming operator Gamesys has been issued with a £6m fine owing to social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) failings.
Gamesys, acquired by Bally’s in 2021, was said to not always be identifying customers at risk of experiencing harms associated with gambling, and having a system of deposit limits which, for some customers, didn’t identify risks of harm quickly enough.
Also, with regards to social responsibility, Gamesys was said to not always be interacting with customers who may be at risk of experiencing harms associated with gambling.
For example, it carried out only one responsible gambling interaction with a customer who lost £19,709 over five months.
Meanhile, records of interactions, considerations and rationale for decisions were said to not always be recorded in enough detail.
Some of Gamesys' anti-money laundering failures included customers spending significant amounts without AML checks being conducted, not doing enough when it comes to customer due diligence, and having a ‘Reinvestment of winnings policy’ which was insufficient to take away the risk that the deposited funds could be from illegitimate sources.
Gambling Commission Executive Director of Operations Kay Roberts 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.”
Last month, the Gambling Commission began a series of consultations focused on refining regulations to improve the efficacy of oversight within the gambling sector.
