Gamesys Sanctioned £6 Million By UKGC For Safe Gambling, AML Breaches
Gamesys Operations Limited, operator of 16 well known iGaming websites, has been sanctioned £6 million (US$7.63m) by the UK’s regulatory Gambling Commission (UKGC) for serious Social Responsibility and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) breaches.
London Stock Exchange-listed Gamesys, founded in 2001 and owned, since October 2021, by US casino big-hitter Bally’s Corporation, operates iGaming sites ballycasino.co.uk, doublebubblebingo.com, jackpotjoy.com, and megawayscasino.com, among others.
A Compliance investigation initiated by the Commission in May 2022 uncovered serious AML shortcomings by the company in their operations between November 2021 and July 2022.
Among the Social Responsibility failures identified were inadequate measures to identify customers at risk of gambling-related harms.
These included an over-reliance on historical financial checks, as indicators of gambling harm — and ineffective deposit limit systems, which failed to quickly identify risk in several cases.
Moreover, Gamesys did not consistently interact with customers who were showing signs of gambling harm.
In some instances, interactions were either delayed or insufficiently detailed; and even contrary to the company’s own avowed Responsible Gambling procedures.
Fair, Safe, Crime-free
Kay Roberts, the UKGC’s Executive Director of Operations, affirmed: “Our focus as a regulator is to ensure that operators are employing policies and procedures which make gambling fair, safe and crime-free.
“We take this responsibility extremely seriously and whenever we find failures in policies and procedures then the business can expect significant regulatory action.”
Gamesys’ AML failings were equally concerning, noted the UKGC.
Some customers managed to bypass AML triggers, enabling significant expenditure without adequate checks.
Examples included customers depositing substantial amounts over several months without proper AML scrutiny.
The investigation also found that the company’s customer due diligence was either lacking, overly dependent on third-party information or customers’ verbal assurances.
Additionally, Gamesys’ policy on the reinvestment of winnings was found to be insufficient in mitigating the risks of funds originating from illegitimate sources.
Gamesys will now be required to undergo an independent audit to ensure the effective implementation of its AML and Safer Gambling policies, procedures, and controls.
