UKGC Published Its 2018/2019 Enforcement Report, Calling Operators to Read it and Learn the Lesson

The UK Gambling Commission published its 2018/2019 Enforcement Report, which is essentially an overview of all the investigations they completed and all the disciplinary measures they took in cases where operators failed to deliver fair and safe gambling.

The regulator has changed its License Conditions and Codes of Practice rules some time ago, which took effect from May 7, 2019, with the aim to make regulations tougher. But as it turns out, the UKGC had quite a busy year, fining operators for breaking the gambling rules.

The Detailed Enforcement Report for 2018/2019

The UK Gambling Commission published the entire report, case studies included, on its official website. But it has also published the summary of it, pointing out the most important lessons operators need to learn from the overview of the regulator’s work over the past year. The Commission has reported all the enforcement measures they had to take in the areas of marketing and advertising, compliance, affordability and player protection, illegal gambling, safer gambling and anti-money laundering.

Warning operators to take the report as a lesson for future operations, the UK Gambling Commission reminded those that break the rules that they would have to face tough consequences because the report presents operators’ failures to follow the gambling rules and protect their customers. Just recently, Kindred’s Platinum Gaming was fined by the UKGC with £1.6 for failing to abide by the social responsibility and anti-money laundering rules.

As written in the report, over the last 12 months, the Commission had to carry out over 160 investigations that resulted in a total of £19.6 million in penalties issued to UK-based operators for their irresponsible actions.  In addition, over 1,200 risk-based compliance assessments and 2,000 intelligence reports were carried out and dealt with.

The Statement by Neil Arthur, UKGC’s Chief Executive

Neil Arthur, the Chief Executive at the UK Gambling Commission was the one that summed things up in the introductory chapter of the report, emphasizing the fact that it was highly important for as many people in iGaming as possible to read this report, as it would make a good example and a lesson to be learned in the future. Players’ safety, enjoyment and security should be at the top of operators’ agenda, he said.

On that note, the Chief Executive promised that the UKGC will continue with its tough measures and penalties in cases they discovered operators failing to meet the regulator’s expectations and breaking the rules.

But, Arthur said, it was paramount to minimize the need for such sanctions by providing operators with a programme of advice, support material and compliance activity to help them get things straight and avoid the terrible consequences.

Finishing his statement, he praised a group of operators, who took initiatives and suggested solutions to make gambling safer and fairer in the UK. Promising to look into those initiatives, Arthur closed his statement saying that the Commission would evaluate the impact of those initiatives and decide whether it was in favour of players or not.