UKGC announces tougher licensing conditions for online operators

The Gambling Commission, responsible for regulating gambling and supervising gaming law in the UK, have imposed tighter licensing conditions for online operators in bid to raise standards.  

The news came following an investigation on three online gambling operators by the Gambling Commission, namely BGO Entertainment Limited, GAN PLC and NetBet Enterprises Limited, for money laundering and irresponsible gambling claims.  

UKGC have previously investigated other operators throughout 2020, notably Mr. Green was fined £3m back at the start of 2020 as part of the Gambling Commission’s targeted investigation into online casinos.

Following the investigation, BGO and Gan PLC reviewed their practices and have implemented improvements in order to ensure the safety of their customers.  

This also entails making payments to support the work of the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms, currently standing at £2m for BGO, £748,000 for NetBet Enterprises Limited, and £146,000 for GAN PLC. 

Additionally, in line with the UKGC’s push for social responsibility, NetBet Enterprise Limited, for instance, are mandated to note the log-in time of their customers during responsible gambling customer assessments. They are also requiring to place limits on customers showing signs of problem gambling by introducing an affordability calculator. 

In the meantime, the Gambling Commission will be reviewing the actions of the individual Personal Management Licence holders for the three operators.  

Richard Watson, executive director at the Gambling Commission, notes: 

Licensees must protect consumers from harm and treat them fairly. Our recent investigations uncovered a variety of consumer protection and anti-money laundering failings at each of these three operators and as a result we are using a range of enforcement tools against them.  We will continue to crack down on failing operators through our tough and proactive compliance and enforcement work. 

 

More recently, Genesis Global had its UKGC Licence Suspension Lifted.

About SiGMA’s revamped website:

SiGMA Group is excited to announce the launch of its newly revamped website. The website is currently available in 5 languages, English, Russian, Mandarin, Portuguese, and Spanish with plans to add another 5 languages over the coming months – namely French, Thai, Korean, Japanese, and Hindi.