The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) announced that they had taken action against four iGaming operators licensed in the UK. As a result, they issued fines up to £4.5 million. Guts Casino which a holder of the license of the UK Gambling Commission was also submitted to pay a fine.
This is not the first time the UK gambling regulator has taken action against casinos online. The current case is related to the lack of measures to ensure the safety of users for preventing money laundering and the keeping of clients safe from gambling harm.
The operators which should pay these fines from the UKGC are following:
- InTouch Games Limited which operates five UK online casinos, should pay £2.2 million;
- Betit Operations Limited responsible for Thrills Casino should pay £1.4 million;
- MT Secure Trade which is linked with Guts Casino and is part of the Gaming Innovation Group has to pay £700,000;
- BestBet Limited that operates the Optibet casino has to pay fines up to £230,972.
During the last 18 months, the UKGC conducted extensive investigations of the gambling market. As a result, 123 casino operators licensed in the UK have been either assessed or in dialogue with the regulator. The operators where failings were identified, paid out a total of £14 million in fines.
Richard Watson, the Gambling Commission Chief Executive, commented that it was important to raise standards in the gambling industry online to ensure its safety. We should mention that in Great Britain, one in five people play casino games at least once a month. So their safety is extremely important. To protect customers, the gambling standards the industry should comply with will be enforced.
