MGM Resorts International

Jyoti Chopra has joined Las Vegas-based MGM as senior vice president, chief diversity and sustainability officer, reporting directly to president and COO Bill Hornbuckle.

Driving the firm’s social impact and sustainability efforts, Chopra is to also work to expand data-driven methods to measure progress in attaining key social impact and environmental sustainability goals by 2025.

Chopra will also oversee the MGM Resorts community engagement, diversity and inclusion, and environmental sustainability teams and departments, including oversight of the nonprofit MGM Resorts foundation and community grant fund, corporate giving program and employee volunteer program.

Of her new position, Chopra stated: “I am honoured and proud to join MGM Resorts to build our roadmap for a sustainable future that improves the quality of life for humanity and protects our planet.

“I look forward to collaborating with our employees, guests, investors, partners and communities to support economic development, provide environmental leadership and advance inclusive people practices.

“Importantly, our work in these arenas will be aligned with leading global reporting frameworks and environmental, social and governance practices for maximum measurable impact.”

Helio Gaming

Keith Galea has been appointed as the new CEO of lottery games provider Helio Gaming, building up a prior role of COO which was undertaken in June.

Galea is to manage the company’s day-to-day functions, as former CEO Richard Mifsud moves to a consultancy role with a focus on ensuring business continuity and growth.

“I’m delighted to be taking over as CEO of Helio Gaming and honoured to be given the opportunity to help build on the company’s commercial achievements to date,” Galea said of the promotion.

“Helio Gaming’s lottery solutions are an asset for any operator looking to diversify its games portfolio, and I think their universal appeal will help the business go from strength to strength in the years to come.”

Sycuan Casino Resort

The Sycuan Tribal Council has appointed Robert Cinelli as the new general manager of Sycuan Casino Resort, beginning the employment on January 1, 2020.

Cinelli currently serves as the senior vice president of casino operations at the Venetian and Palazzo, and has been with the Las Vegas Sands Corporation since November 2011.

“The Sycuan tribe is excited to have Mr Cinelli join our team,” said Sycuan chairman Cody Martinez. “He brings incredible financial talent and an abundance of management experience and customer focus in a highly competitive gaming market.

“Rob’s breadth and depth of knowledge and goals for our new property, mesh well with the goals and objectives of the tribal council and the entire tribe.”

Betfred USA

Betfred has appointed Bryan Bennett as chief operating officer for their US operations, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals.

Bennett will oversee Betfred’s US operations of on premise, online and mobile wagering and its full suite of managed products: BI/analytics, anti-fraud, trading, compliance/GDPR, customer support, payments, marketing and managed trading operations support.

Mark Stebbings, Betfred Group chief operating officer, noted: “After a thorough process we have appointed Bryan Bennett as the Betfred Sports US chief operating officer. Bryan has a wealth of experience and an exemplary track record. He shares our vision for our US operation and this appointment will help us achieve our goals in this exciting new market.”

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Following the announcement, shares in William Hill climbed one point, rising 4.55p above their closing price on Friday, before dropping by approximately three per cent to 129.45p on Monday afternoon.

Done, who has not yet confirmed whether he plans to increase his stake in the operator, told the Racing Post: “I’ve bought Hills shares because they are massively undervalued and in my opinion when it comes to the US they are front-runners.”

Over recent months, Betfred has been capitalising on the opportunity presented by the post-PASPA US market, having launched sportsbooks in both Colorado and Iowa, as well as securing an agreement with Scientific Games to go live in Pennsylvania.

Scientific Games was selected as the technology provider to launch retail solutions at Wind Creek Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the first half of 2020 as part of Betfred’s partnership with the property. 

In advance of the 2020-2021 NFL season, Betfred and Scientific Games plan to launch digital sports betting for the state’s bettors.

Meanwhile, William Hill has also been strengthening its foothold in the US, having gone live in 9 of the fourteen states which have legalised sports betting.

As confirmed in its full-year 2019 results, William Hill US handled $2.9bn of gross amounts wagered, either directly or indirectly, 55 per cent of which was placed through online channels, while the operator also revealed it had handled one in four bets across the US.

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The former VP of Product for Stats Perform brings over 10 years of sports betting and igaming experience to Betfred, having previously worked in senior product and technology roles at Sky Betting and Gaming, Pokerstars International and Flutter Entertainment, before joining Stats Perform in 2021.

In addition to elevating the brand’s online business, Cockerill will be tasked with enhancing Betfred’s retail offering and accelerating the transition of the operator into a technology-first organisation.

“I’m delighted to join Betfred at such an important and exciting time in their history,” commented Cockerill on his new role.

“Betfred is one of the UK’s strongest brands in the sector and I’m looking forward to working with the excellent team here to elevate Betfred to where it should be as one of the top online bookmakers in the UK and advancing our leadership in retail.”

Joanne Whittaker, CEO of Betfred, added: “Nick joins with a wealth of experience and has an excellent track record in the sector. His appointment is key to our huge ambitions for Betfred.”

At Stats Perform, Cockerill was central to the launch of ‘Instant Highlights’, which is used by many sportsbooks globally. He also helped with the launch of Runningball for tennis and Dynamic Betting Stats API. 

Runningball for tennis offers data for tennis trading, while Dynamic Betting Stats API is a platform that allows sportsbooks to easily interact with Opta data for players and team stats markets, bet-builders and same-game multis.

At Sky Betting & Gaming, Cockerill led the Core and Payments product teams between 2014 to 2018, growing the team and supporting the operator’s international and in-house technology expansion. He led the product and design teams for the build of their greenfield international sportsbook following the acquisition of the business by Pokerstars.

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Concluding the transitional period, Sharp Gaming CEO Andrew Daniels has become the operator’s new Chief Information Officer and will take leadership for all the IT and Technology infrastructure at the group.

He said: “It’s been seven years in the making and has been one of the biggest challenges of my professional career, but the hard work has been worth it in the end.

“I’d like to thank my fantastic team for making this migration possible and I’m very excited to begin my role as the company’s new CIO.” 

Having been formed from Daniels’ previous venture, Degree 53, in 2020, Sharp Gaming was bolstered by an initial £25m investment from Betfred Founder Fred Done.

As Betfred’s dedicated proprietary platform, the full-spectrum B2B system will power player account management software, sportsbook, gaming aggregation, remote gaming server, applications and an array of websites. 

Meanwhile, the operator described the new platform as having ‘pivotal potential’ in pioneering unique betting and gaming products, adding that the move is ‘undoubtedly another big breakthrough’ for the Betfred Group’s global aspirations. 

Betfred CEO, Joanne Whittaker, concluded: “This is the latest transformative milestone in Betfred’s near 60-year history and it marks a new beginning for our operations as a business. 

“I would like to thank Andy and the Sharp Gaming team for their amazing efforts for bringing this unique and exciting migration to fruition.”

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Now in its seventh year, the Betting and Gaming Council, bacta, Lotteries Council and Bingo Association organised event officially takes place from November 13-19.

One of this quartet has highlighted the importance of the week in drawing attention to work that is undertaken across the entire year, with John White, bacta Chief Executive, reminding that “the welfare and wellbeing of our customers is paramount”.

“Our sector provides players throughout the country with responsible gambling entertainment and the initiatives that our members have in place ensures that the numbers who experience problems is at a record low level,” he said.

Among the array of operators participating in The Health Lottery, which will be distributing enhanced safer gambling messaging directly to players, as well as via social media, throughout the week. 

“…it’s an opportunity to show the wider public that the gambling sector is united”

Lebby Eyres, CEO at The Health Lottery

In addition, the group has also arranged for additional staff training in a bid to ensure that everyone in the team keeps the vulnerable firmly at the forefront.

“Safer Gambling Week is a valuable opportunity to encourage everyone who gambles to take time out to think about how much time and money they spend,” commented Lebby Eyres, CEO at The Health Lottery. 

“For those who recognise that they may have lost their way, it’s about reminding them of the tools that are available and urging them to seek help at the earliest opportunity, in order to take back control of their lives.

“As well as highlighting the vital work of the many excellent gambling support networks, it’s an opportunity to show the wider public that the gambling sector is united in its aim to provide a safe environment for people to play and have fun. We wish everyone happy and healthy play, this week and always.”

Elsewhere, Betfred tasked creative & production agency Zút to devise a focus campaign, which has subsequently been titled ‘How Do You Keep It Fun?’ 

During a series of four adverts, a wide range of people are seen promoting healthy habits, such as setting personal limits, limiting gaming session time and being aware of the frequency of their betting. 

“.the few that do not (act responsibly) generate negative press that sometimes taints the entire industry”

Felix Faulkner, Solicitor at Poppleston Allen

Joanne Whittaker, Betfred’s Chief Executive, stated: “Safer Gambling is at the very heart of our business and these new adverts are of huge importance to Betfred. Zút were the perfect partner to produce the adverts as they clearly understood what we wanted to achieve and shared a desire to make these adverts industry leading.”

On the legal front, Felix Faulkner, Solicitor at Poppleston Allen, which has a specialist betting and gaming division, noted that SGW 2023 “is perhaps more important than ever” given the review of the UK’s gambling law.

However, he is quick to acknowledge that public perception of the industry could have been dented by “some large financial penalties” being handed out by the Gambling Commission, as well as a number of “very similar rulings” issued by the Advertising Standards Authority.

“The vast majority of gambling operators in the UK market act responsibly, but the few that do not generate negative press that sometimes taints the entire industry,” Faulkner explained.

“Safer Gambling Week is a good time to urge all operators to have systems in place to ensure they stay well within the current rules and regulations.

“With a general election looming, we expect that some of the proposals in the white paper and the subsequent consultations may fall by the wayside, but we believe those related to safer gambling are the most likely to be prioritised by the current government. Specifically, these include proposals such as a gambling ombudsman and the statutory levy.”

In addition, affiliate and white label operator QiH Group has cited the importance of affiliates when it comes to safer gambling messaging, with these “the first point of contact with a gambling website” for many players.

“There is sometimes a very thin line between being compliant and non-compliant”

Andrew Lee, Group Operations Director at QiH Group

“We are fully behind this year’s Safer Gambling Week, with support for its social media campaign and also our own social media activity,” commented Andrew Lee, Group Operations Director at QiH Group.

“It’s important to remember though that it isn’t just about one week; responsible gambling should be something all companies involved in the industry are constantly thinking about. For this reason, we regularly raise awareness of the topic in weekly staff meetings throughout the year and we also make sure new staff receive adequate training in the area. 

“Compliance is embedded in the DNA of our company and we always take care not to push the boundaries in terms of our advertising. There is sometimes a very thin line between being compliant and non-compliant and we don’t want to be close to that line. 

“Affiliates have a duty to advertise responsibly and many operator partners also have specific requirements in terms of links to responsible gambling organisations, but this should be seen as a minimum and there’s no reason affiliates can’t go above and beyond that. 

“For example, at QiH Group we have made sure all of our UK sites have extended safer gambling messaging and we also regularly add responsible gambling messages to our email communications. We see such initiatives as important as a responsible affiliate working with the biggest UK operators.”

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Petfre (Gibraltar) Ltd, which trades as  Betfred, received word from the ASA that three of its tweets between March and April 2023 – each featuring video interviews with the boxer – “must not appear again in their current form” after being considered to have “a strong appeal” to under-18s. 

Two tweets saw Joshua being interviewed by Dom McGuinness ahead of the former’s bout with Jermaine Franklin, looking into the boxer’s diet and motivations for the fight, while the third had Joshua detailing his confidence in the result going his way. 

Despite the tweet containing no promotional offers or specific advertising, with Betfred defending them as ‘editorial in nature’, and with boxing considered to have no “moderate or high risk” under CAP guidance, Joshua’s social media following was considered enough to make the tweets unlawful. 

Within the ASA report, Betfred responded to the claim by assuring that its Twitter feed was age-gated and therefore could not be accessed by users in the age range. 

Although zero per cent of his followers on Twitter/X, Facebook and TikTok were registered as being between 13 and 17 years old, five per cent of Joshua’s Snapchat followers and over six per cent of his Instagram followers were registered as being between 13 and 17 years old. 

At the time of publishing, Joshua had 29.3 million followers across various social channels, of which 1.1 million users were registered as being under 18, a figure that the ASA considers to be ‘a substantially high number’ resulting in the ruling being upheld. 

The ASA then referred to CAP guidelines that state: “a generally high social media following that attracts a significant absolute number of under 18 followers, as determined through quantitative or qualitative analysis, is likely to be considered an indicator of ‘strong’ appeal”.

The report concluded that the advertisement had breached CAP code (Edition 12) rules 16.1, 16.3 and 16.3.12 (Gambling) and advised Petfre “not to include a person or character who had strong appeal to those under 18” in its future marketing.

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Betfred 

Betfred is set to appoint a new Chief Operations Officer, following the announcement by Mark Stebbings that he will depart the UK betting group at the end of this week.

The long-serving employee commented via his LinkedIn account: “After nearly 30 years, I have decided that it is the right time for me to leave Betfred. I am immensely proud to have been part of an incredible growth story.”

Reflecting on his three decade long tenure at Betfred, Stebbings acknowledged company founder Fred Done as an “unbelievable mentor,” who oversaw his progress and development across key stages of his career to become a company executive.

“Thanks to Fred Done, who has been an unbelievable mentor to me, and for the belief and faith he put in me as I made my way through the ranks from a trainee betting shop manager to group chief operating officer,” he added.

SkyCity Entertainment

All approvals have been received by Auckland, New Zealand, headquartered SkyCity Entertainment Group regarding the appointment of Donna Cooper as a Non-Executive Director.

Cooper, who boasts experience of more than 25 years in the financial services industry, where she was most recently CEO of TSB Bank, replaces the retiring Sue Suckling on the board.

SkyCity Chair, Julian Cook, previously said of the appointment: “Donna has extensive experience in the financial services industry, most recently as Chief Executive Officer of TSB Bank Limited where she has led the organisation through material transformation, significant regulatory uplift and growth in residential lending. 

“She brings diverse global expertise to the SkyCity Board and experience in building and managing strategic, complex relationships in public and private sectors. We are delighted that she has agreed to join the SkyCity board.”

AXES

Jonathan Michaels has been named as a strategic fintech advisor of AXES, where he will design the company’s strategy to open up the group’s cashless system, applications and players wallet to the banking system and various funding sources.

Upon joining the fintech firm that specialises in the global land-based gaming industry, Michaels has hailed the company “as a diamond-in-the-rough in the US gaming market”.

Earle G Hall, President & CEO of AXES, explained: “AXES is the pioneer in cloud-based closed loop cashless. It is time for AXES to embrace open loop strategies to cRacecourse Media Groupreate a seamless experience to import and export funds easily and rapidly into the gaming experience. 

“We are thrilled to appoint such a renowned Industry Fintech expert such as Jonathan to spearhead this initiative. 

“Our clients have been cashless for years and they are now telling us the time is right to integrate the open loop into our players wallet to create a frictionless experience from their funds source to their gaming experience. We are so excited that Jonathan is taking the lead as his experience and expertise is unparalleled.”

Racecourse Media Group

Scott Smith has been appointed to the role of Non-Executive Director of Racecourse Media Group. He will officially join the group’s board on October 1, 2023.

He bring over two decades of experience in financial leadership to the role, with previous roles including Chief Financial Officer stints at the England & Wales Cricket Board and America’s Cup, as well as being Finance Director of A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.

Conor Grant, who succeeds Roger Lewis as Chair of the RMG Board on October 1, said: “I am delighted to welcome Scott to the Racecourse Media Group board. Scott’s experience of many sectors, especially sport, will help shape our business and ensure we are maximising exposure and returns for our shareholder racecourses – and therefore the sport itself.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank and pay tribute to Roger Lewis for such an effective and successful stewardship of RMG. Roger has been on the Board for well over a decade, first as a board member and then Chair, and has been instrumental in the development and success of RMG and its businesses over the last decade or so. We wish him all the very best for the future.”

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For the second consecutive year in support of Macmillan, the title sponsor pledged to donate £50 per 180 hit during each aforementioned event alongside £1 per point as a number of players and visiting celebrities took part in a nine-dart charity challenge.

“Sponsoring these events each year is always a highlight for us at Betfred but we’re also delighted to be able to support great charities such as Macmillan Cancer Support,” said Betfred boss Fred Done.

“The players have been fantastic throughout both the World Matchplay and Women’s World Matchplay, both through the quality and entertainment on stage and their support for our charity activity.

“The money raised for Macmillan Cancer Support will be invaluable for such an important charity.”

In total, 315 maximum scores were hit during the World Matchplay, led by eventual champion Nathan Aspinall’s individual total of 44, in addition to a further nine during the course of the Women’s World Matchplay.

Furthermore, the nine-dart challenge, which featured eventual World Matchplay finalists Aspinall and Jonny Clayton, respective reigning champions Michael van Gerwen and Fallon Sherrock and celebrities including former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson and rugby league star Kris Radlinski, raised a total of £9,79

Stockport’s Aspinall, who picked up the biggest title of his career at the Winter Gardens on Sunday night, added: “It’s great that Betfred are making such a large donation to Macmillan Cancer Support.

“They’re a wonderful charity who do so much good work, and it’s an honour to have been able to help raise such a brilliant sum of money for them.”

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3.25

Due to a series of failures between January 2021 and December 2022, Betfred is to pay £3.25m in a regulatory settlement issued by UK Gambling Commission. 

While the commission found failures in the group’s implementation of anti-money laundering policies, procedures, controls and practices, the UKGC also uncovered deficiencies in safer gambling implementation. 

In regards to the total payment, which will be used for socially responsible purposes and includes a divestment of £1.05m, Betfred agreed to the publication of related facts and will pay Commission costs. 

AML failings identified include poor record keeping and financial alerts being set too high, as well as failing to consistently obtain know your customer and source of funds information.

Customers were found to have staked large amounts without the appropriate KYC being conducted. Examples were provided of three individuals that lost £61,000 over four months, £72,000 within nine months and another that staked £429,222 and lost £120,353 across 11 months.

“In recent years there’s been a public focus on online gambling but this case illustrates how important it is for us to continue our drive to raise standards across the whole industry,” said Kay Roberts, executive director of operations at the Commission.

“Gambling is a legitimate leisure activity enjoyed safely by millions but it is vital that every single operator – either online or offline – has in place effective safeguards to prevent harm or crime.”

545

Ontario’s online casino regulator iGaming Ontario revealed the province’s performance for the first quarter of the 2023/24 fiscal year, publishing total gaming revenue of C$545m. 

This figure signals a 3.6 per cent increase on the Q4 2022/23’s total gaming revenue of C$526m. Elsewhere, total wagers also increased in Q1, reaching $14bn, and the number of operators active in Ontario increased to 46 from Q4’s 44. 

Average monthly spend per active player account also improved to $197 (Q4: $174), however, active player accounts dropped below a million by the end of the quarter, falling to 920,000 (Q4: 1.01m).

Per segment, Ontario’s casino games (slots, live and online table games and peer-to-peer bingo) contributed the most towards total gaming revenue ($392m) and wagers ($11.6bn) at 72 per cent and 83 per cent respectively.

Casino operations were followed by betting (sports, esports, proposition and novelty bets) with $138m revenue, $2bn in wagers, and peer-to-peer poker at $15m revenue, $350m wagers.

27

Betsson reported robust performance across casino and sportsbook verticals in the group’s H1 interim results, witnessing a 27 per cent rise in Q2 revenues to €237m (Q2 2022: €186m). 

Reflecting on a quarter that saw the firm withdraw from the Netherlands licencing process, Betsson President and CEO, Pontus Lindwall, highlighted the company’s ambitions to future-proof its competitiveness, touching on a sponsorship deal with Boca Juniors as well as the purchase of Belgian operator betFIRST.

Commenting on these moves, Lindwall stated: “These strategic initiatives together enable a competitive offering in sports betting and casino for the Belgian market. The investment in Belgium resonates well with Betsson’s ambition to deliver long-term profitable growth.”

“The sponsorship, one of the largest ever for Betsson, means that the club’s iconic match shirt will feature the Betsson logo during local and international matches until the end of 2024. 

“The collaboration with Boca Juniors strengthens Betsson’s brand and rapid expansion in Argentina and throughout Latin America.”

Through Q2, gross profit increased 37 per cent to €162.5m (2022: €118.8m), net income rose 64 per cent to €48.9m (2022: €28.6m) and EBITDA closed at €67.6m, up 72 per cent to €67.6m (2022: €39.3m). Active customer numbers dropped 10 per cent to 1.11m (2022: 1.24m).

1.2

Aristocrat Gaming moved one step closer to acquiring NeoGames after the first round of shareholder voting approved the proposed acquisition which evaluated NeoGames to be worth $1.2bn.

Making up the $1.2bn figure, Aristocrat has proposed to purchase NeoGames at a price of £29.50 per share to represent a 104 per cent premium on the value of the company’s shares in the three months ending May 12. 

With a second shareholder vote set to be held, at least 66.7 per cent of NeoGames shareholders entitled to a vote would be needed to approve and finalise the acquisition.

Moti Malul, NeoGames CEO, stated:  “We are delighted that the team at Aristocrat recognises the significance of what we have built, and the strategic opportunity to combine our complementary businesses. 

“We firmly believe that this Transaction represents a great outcome for all of NeoGames’ shareholders, customers and employees.”

2.3

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board published the state’s gambling performance for fiscal year 2022/23 as record tax revenue figures were published, standing at $2.3bn to show a 9.67 per cent increase on 2021/22’s $2.16bn.

For the year, total revenue stood at $5.5bn, an increase of 9.33 per cent on 2021/2022’s previous record-high statistics of $5.04bn. 

Throughout the fiscal year, slot machine revenue contributed a total of $2.45bn, a 1.74 per cent increase on the previous year’s figures of $2.41bn. This represents the state’s second highest-performing fiscal year for slot machine revenue, second only to 2011/12’s $2.47bn. 

The year also saw an impressive performance in the Keystone State’s igaming sector, which increased by 24.38 per cent to $1.53bn from 2021/22’s $1.23bn. This robust performance led to a tax revenue contribution of $652m. 

Other sectors to publish positive results were video gaming terminals, witnessing a 1.28 per cent uptick to $42m, and sports wagering, which recorded a substantial 55.82 per cent increase from $315m (2021/22) to $491m. 

30

GamCare has launched a ‘Women’s Chatroom’ to place a focus on support for females impacted by gambling harm, revealing that 30 per cent of the 40,000 annual National Gambling Helpline users are women. 

Following its official launch on July 18, the chatroom will provide women seeking guidance around problem gambling for themselves or for loved ones with lived experience support.

The initiatives will look to tackle feelings of guilt and shame associated with gambling issues as it aims to connect, support and enable the sharing of stories between women with similar experiences.  

GamCare’s new chat room will host semi-structured sessions from 7pm-8pm every Tuesday, running for six weeks with each session taking on a different overarching theme. 

GamCare support stated: “We understand it can be challenging to take those first steps to get support with your gambling. We know that you might experience feelings of shame, or guilt. Many other women feel like this, you’re not alone.”

457.2m 

While signalling a slight revenue slump from May, New Jersey’s gaming ecosystem has gained a year-over-year increase in gaming revenue for June, coming in at $457.2m.

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement statistics showed that Garden State operators recorded a total gaming revenue figure of $457.2m in June, a 13.9 per cent improvement YoY (June 2022: $401.5m), but down compared to May’s $470.9m.

Per vertical, casino operations contributed $241.6m towards the month’s total revenue, followed by igaming with $149.3m and sports wagering with $66.4m.

Casino gaming’s revenue of $241.6m from the state’s nine casino hotel properties is up 5.4 per cent YoY (2022: $229.1m) and compared to May’s $227.3m.

Per game type, slot machines earned June revenues of $182.98m, a 7 per cent improvement YoY (2022: $171.07m), while table games achieved an income of $58.6m, a slight increase compared to the previous year (2022: $58.1m).

Vici Properties-owned and MGM Resorts-operated Borgata reported the most casino revenue during the month with $60.5m, up 11.6 per cent YoY (2022: $54.3m). 

Borgata was followed by Hard Rock with $43.3m, down 2.8 per cent (2022: $44.6m), and Ocean Casino rounded off the top three with $34.88m with the biggest increase for any casino during the month at 17.6 per cent (2022: $29.67m).

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In addition to finding shortcomings in the group’s implementation of anti-money laundering policies, procedures and controls, deficiencies were also uncovered regarding safer gambling policies, procedures, controls and practices, including weaknesses in implementation.

Regarding the aforementioned total payment, which will be used for socially responsible purposes and includes a divestment of £1.05m, Betfred, which runs 1,750 retail betting shops, agreed to the publication of related facts and will pay Commission costs. 

Aggravating factors identified include the seriousness of the breaches, impact on licensing objectives and the fact that senior management “should have been aware of governance issues that lead to the breaches, given their significance”.

Steps taken to remedy breaches, meeting the UKGC’s timetables of providing material and responses and early and voluntary acceptance of findings and request to enter into the regulatory settlement process were stipulated as mitigating circumstances.

“In recent years there’s been a public focus on online gambling but this case illustrates how important it is for us to continue our drive to raise standards across the whole industry,” said Kay Roberts, executive director of operations at the Commission.

“Gambling is a legitimate leisure activity enjoyed safely by millions but it is vital that every single operator – either online or offline – has in place effective safeguards to prevent harm or crime.”

AML failings identified include poor record keeping and financial alerts being set too high, as well as failing to consistently obtain know your customer and source of funds information.

Customers were found to have staked large amounts without the appropriate KYC being conducted. Examples were provided of three individuals that lost £61,000 over four months, £72,000 within nine months and another that staked £429,222 and lost £120,353 across 11 months.

In addition, the UKGC noted that Betfred was “placing an undue reliance on open-source information and should have taken further steps to corroborate customers’ SoF information”.

Social responsibility shortcomings include having insufficient controls in place to protect new customers and to monitor high velocity spend and duration of play.

In addition, the Commission also found that Betfred was “making assumptions that customers were not at risk of harm because they were winning customers”.

The company, the UKGC noted, did not carry out interactions on one customer that staked £517,499 between March 21, 2022, and May 18, 2022.

This was due to it being “of the view that this customer was a professional poker player, displayed no signs to encourage staff interaction, and was in a winning position of £8,585 in the period”.

The UKGC added: “It was established that the customer was able to stake close to the entirety of his net worth (based upon open-source checks carried out by the licensee) within a two month period and should have been subject of SG considerations”.

Furthermore, the operator was found to have a lack of evidence of evaluation of the effectiveness of individual customer interactions, as well as poor record keeping that could limit the effectiveness of future interactions.

This becomes the latest in a slew of financial penalties handed down by the UKGC this year, with Star Racing and a £594,000 financial penalty Videoslots, via a $2m sanction, and SkillOnNet (£305,150) among the latest to fall foul.

Earlier in the year, 888 vowed to continue collaborative efforts alongside the regulator after the William Hill Group received a record £19.2m penalty for an array of social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures. 

The financial punishment, which surpassed the £17m issued to Entain last year, saw Mr Green pay £3.7m, while William Hill’s online business penalised £12.5m and a further £3m was aligned to the company’s retail operations.

This followed 10bet’s £620,000 penalty package, Intouch Games being handed down a financial penalty of £6.1m, a third in four years; TonyBet being penalised £442,750 and Vivaro, trading as VBet, making payments in lieu of a penalty package of £337,631. The Commission also penalised the Kindred Group’s Unibet and 32Red brands a combined £7.1m.

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