Financial Penalties from UKGC exceed £18 million This Year

According to the most recent report from the British Gambling Commission, sports betting platforms and PayPal casino sites received financial penalties worth more than £18 million. The gambling regulator took into account the fines issued between May 2017 and April 2018. The numbers show that online gambling companies paid £1.6 million more when compared to the previous financial year.

On the list of gambling operators the UKGC fined recently, players could see the most famous names in the industry.

One of the biggest financial penalties this year went to William Hill. The gambling operator received a £6.2 million fine for not complying with the social responsibility and anti-money laundering regulations. Another operator that received an even bigger fine is 888 Holdings. The company paid £7.8m as it failed to protect its vulnerable customers.

In March this year, Sky Bet received a £1 million fine when the UKGC found that 736 problem gamblers who excluded themselves were able to reopen an account and gamble with the online operator. The following month, the UKGC ordered Tabcorp UK to pay £84,000 for the infamous piegate incident.

In May, LeoVegas received a £600,000 fine for misleading advertisements, as well as for allowing problem gamblers to reactivate their gambling accounts.

The latest casino operator that received a financial penalty from the UK gambling regulator was 32Red. The famous casino platform allowed a problem gambler to create an account with 32Red. The operator even granted that person a VIP status at the casino. This was only one of the reasons that forced the UKGC to take action. The British Gambling Commission investigated this case thoroughly and ordered 32Red to pay a £2 million fine.

This year not a single month went by without news about UKGC investigations and financial penalties the regulatory body handed out to gambling companies. The question is whether online gambling operators need to pay a fine to comply with the UKGC’s regulatory guidelines fully. After all, a safe and fair gambling environment should be in everyone’s interest.