UKGC Fines Two Gambling Platforms a Combined £1.3 million for Failing Social Responsibility Regulations!

The UKGC fines two gambling platforms for failing social responsibility regulatory codes. The two must pay a combined £1.3 million! (Image by Tingey Injury Law Firm at unsplash.com)

The UKGC does a fantastic job of regulating online gambling across the UK and the regulatory body is never slow to penalise gambling entities that do not adequately abide by its rules and regulations. As a body designed to protect players from gambling harm, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission demands that online entities do more to spot and prevent problem gamblers from depositing and playing.

However, while there are some fantastic examples of online casinos that pull their weight regarding responsible gambling, others often neglect this area. They either purposely allow gambling addicts to deposit as they know they will make a profit, or they simply do not have the procedures in place to adequately detect them. Either way, the UKGC will take the appropriate action if this comes to their attention.

The latest to be on the receiving end of the strictest regulatory body in the world was Rank Digital Gaming (Alderney) Limited and Annexio (Jersey) Limited. The UKGC reported that between them, they will now pay fines which total a combined £1.3 million. Again, the reason for these fines came down to social responsibility failures.

This is far from the first time the UKGC has fined rule-breakers in the UK and it will not be the last. Depending on the seriousness of the breach of rules, the UKGC will issue warnings, monetary fines, or suspend that entity’s license. Just a few months ago, we reported how the UKGC had suspended the license of BGO Entertainment, which had previously been issued fines and warnings for its failure at taking action against problem gamblers. They also recently fined Greentube Alderney Limited £685,000 for social responsibility and money laundering failures.

Rank Digital Gaming (Alderney) Limited

The firm which operates four online gambling sites, namely Bella Casino, Grosvenor Casino, Mecca Bingo, and Mecca Games, has been fined £700,000. This is for failing to comply with several Social Responsibility Codes between October 2019 and February 2021. They found that the safer gambling triggers at Rank management were not effective enough, that the company would often overly rely on setting deposit limits rather than performing affordability tests, and not doing enough to prevent and close duplicate accounts.

Annexio (Jersey) Limited

As for Annexio Limited, a company that operates LottoGo, the UKGC found it to have breached the Prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing and the reporting key events and other reportable events conditions, while it also failed to comply with the Social Responsibility Code. Annexio Limited received a fine totalling £612,000 for its failings.

Aside from the financial penalties issued to both companies, they have had to agree to improve their procedures in the future. Now under the watchful eye of the UKGC, if sufficient improvements are not met, they face the similar fate of BGO, a company that had its UKGC license revoked.