Leading casino operator Casumo has received a large £6M fine from the UK Gambling Commission, also known as the UKGC. This operator has been fined as a result of investigations that revealed they were not ensuring players were gambling responsibly in addition to breaches of the anti-money laundering rules.
Huge failings uncovered
The UKGC found that Casumo had a number of social responsibility failings. One example they gave detailed how one customer managed to lose £1.1M over three years without being subject to a responsible gambling interaction.
Other customers managed to lose over £65,000 without any kind of interaction from the brand. This is a direct breach of the UKGC’s licensing regulations which aim to protect customers. In this case, Casumo should have had procedures in place to reduce the risk of problem gambling.
Anti-money laundering failings
It wasn’t just issues with problem gambling that the UKGC uncovered amongst Casumo’s financial records. They also noted that they breached several of the anti-money laundering rules set out by the regulatory body.
This includes failure to check on the source of funds, inefficient checking of bank statements and poor checks for documentation for authenticity.
Casumo was also found to be accepting winnings from other gambling operators as SOF without investigating this further.
An official warning given
Alongside the £6M fine that the brand received as a result of these findings, they also received an official warning from the UKGC. They must call in independent auditors to ensure they are abiding by the rules set out in their license.
Richard Watson, Executive Director of the UKGC said: “This case was brought about through planned compliance activity and every operator out there should be aware that we will continue to take firm action against those who fail to raise standards.”
This action from the UKGC shows that operators must be willing to step in when they need to, in order to protect players and avoid hefty fines.
