UKGC Fines LeoVegas £600,000
The United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) has disciplined the Swedish online casino operator LeoVegas with a penalty of roughly €700,500. The infraction lies in violations concerning customer protection in the context of prohibited advertising. Additionally, numerous barred customers did not receive their payouts.
In the lead-up to the penalties, LeoVegas faced accusations of neglecting to maintain high levels of customer protection. The mobile gaming firm's self-exclusion system unveiled major issues.
As a result of these issues, the Malta-based online casino disseminated a total of 41 misleading advertisements from April 2017 to January 2018 and sent the material to 1894 individuals prohibited from playing.
In this supposed 'marketing campaign', 418 problem gamblers regained access to their gaming participation sans extra security measurements. Operators were supposed to at the very least engage in discussions and provide 24-hour cooling-off periods. Instead, LeoVegas received wagers amounting to £200,000 from players. In addition, payouts to 11,250 self-excluded customers were not made.
Due to this multitude of legal infractions, 'shedding light' on them, iGaming Business denotes this situation as a 'mistreatment' of customers. Hence, UKGC CEO Neil McArthur, who assumed office mid-April, was compelled to 'send a message':
"The ruling highlights that we will crack down on licensees if our guidelines, instated in our licensing conditions and codes of practice, are bypassed and consumers are misled in the process."
The UK Gambling Commission additionally points out that software errors on the part of LeoVegas presumably triggered the misconduct. Furthermore, the industry is striving with the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) to introduce an industry-wide self-exclusion system named Gamstop. It was initially intended to launch at the end of 2017, but later postponed to this year, and has since faltered.
"We want operators to learn from our investigations and allow these lessons to result in improved standards," McArthur states, encouraging the industry to prioritize technological advances in customer protection.
LeoVegas must also pay the UKGC's investigation expenses and, of course, promptly repay the remaining balances of the self-excluded customers. The operator has expressed remorse for the accusations and attributed its misconduct to the high workload in anticipation of the FIFA World Cup.
Putting customer protection first
The UK Gambling Commission, which was formed in 2007, is considered one of the most stringent and professional regulatory bodies globally. Particularly under the three-year plan implemented by former CEO Sarah Harrison, addiction prevention and customer protection have been identified as the Commission's foremost concerns.
After disciplining LeoVegas, Neil McArthur, Harrison's successor in April this year, seeks to maintain her tough stance. According to him, the Commission's primary objective is to "encourage gambling operators to treat their customers fairly", as McArthur expressed when he first assumed the CEO position.
Contrarily to McArthur's viewpoint, LeoVegas appears to have survived with just a 'gentle' punishment of 'only' £600,000: A company listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, LeoVegas registered €77.4 million revenue in the first quarter of 2018 and exhibited a 40% growth rate in the UK. Given these numbers, the penalty seems relatively manageable, especially when compared to the record fine of £7.8 million enforced on 888 Holdings in 2017 - also on the basis of inadequate customer protection.
A few months ago, London-based bookmaker William Hill was struck with a fine exceeding £6 million in February of this year. Additionally, William Hill was charged with money laundering, as unlawful revenue was logged in their balance sheet.
More recently, sports betting brand Sky Bet, which now belongs to the Stars Group, was issued a £1 million fine in April, despite voluntarily confessing their negligence in customer protection to the regulatory body.
It remains to be seen whether Neil McArthur will be regarded as a hardliner adhering to Sarah Harrison's legacy following the LeoVegas ruling.
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Source: www.onlinecasinosdeutschland.com
