The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has fined Gamesys £6m ($7.6m) for anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility issues. The Bally’s Corporation-owned gambling group will now be subject to an audit from a third party to make sure that its controls and procedures are up to scratch.
The UKGC discovered the issues while carrying out a compliance assessment in May 2022, with the failings occurring between November 2021 and July 2022. Gamesys currently runs 16 gambling platforms in the UK, including brands like Bally Casino, Double Bubble Bingo, and Jackpotjoy.
failing to communicate with at-risk people
The social responsibility issues related to the company not always identifying users who were at risk of gambling-related harm, failing to communicate with at-risk people, and not recording enough details about interactions and rationales behind certain decisions.
In one glaring example, Gamesys only contacted a customer after they gambled away nearly £10,000 ($12,730), while also recommending certain promotions and games during the subsequent interaction.
In terms of AML deficiencies, some customers navigated around the company’s thresholds and gambled significant money without facing any necessary checks. One player as a result was able to add £34,280 ($43,638) to their account in less than six months. The UKGC also found Gamesys’ due diligence to be inadequate, relying too much on verbal assurances from customers.