Melco Resorts and Entertainment

Grant Johnson has been promoted to the role of senior vice president and property general manager of Melco Resorts and Entertainment’s City of Dreams Mediterranean and Cyprus Casinos. 

Boasting “extensive experience in the gaming and entertainment industry,” Johnson takes over from Craig Ballantyne, previously property president of City of Dreams Mediterranean and Cyprus Casinos, who retired on April 1.

Johnson gains responsibility for the continued development of the upcoming City of Dreams Mediterranean, which it is expected to become “the largest and premier integrated destination resort in Europe,” as well as the management and operations of Cyprus Casinos. 

Earlier this year the operator opened Cyprus Casinos Paphos, which become the fourth and final C2 satellite operation in the region following the debut of the temporary casino in Limassol and fellow satellite entities in Nicosia, Larnaca and Ayia Napa.

Lawrence Ho, chairman and chief executive officer of Melco, commented: “Congratulations to Grant Johnson on his new appointment. With his proven track record of delivering growth for the company I am confident that we can continue pushing boundaries as a global leader in innovative luxury entertainment offerings. 

“This promotion represents Melco’s commitment to internal career opportunities. I also wish to thank Craig Ballantyne for his outstanding service to Melco as property president of City of Dreams Mediterranean and Cyprus Casinos and wish him the very best for his retirement.”

Blueprint Gaming

Online casino content developer Blueprint Gaming has appointed Lauren Bradley into the newly created role of head of commercial, bringing “a wealth of experience and industry knowledge”.

The strengthening of its team comes “at a pivotal period for the company,” as Bradley builds n experience gained at a number of suppliers and operators, such as Bede Gaming, iSoftBet and Realistic Games, to aid the long-term development of the business and success of Blueprint.

Matt Cole, managing director of Blueprint Gaming, said: “Lauren is a well-known and highly respected figure in the online casino industry and will prove to be an important addition to our already outstanding team. Her skills and knowledge will be invaluable as we look to further extend Blueprint’s presence across new markets, as well as continuing to engage closely with our existing partners.”

Multi-State Lottery Association

The board of directors of the Multi-State Lottery Association has elected Sarah Monnett Taylor, executive director of the Hoosier Lottery, to serve as board president for fiscal year 2021.

The graduate of Greencastle HS and Indiana University was first appointed as executive director of the Hoosier Lottery by former Governor Mike Pence in 2013, and reappointed by Governor Eric Holcomb in 2016.

She will become the 31st MUSL Board President and the first ever to serve from the Hoosier Lottery.  

Commenting on the appointment, Taylor said: “It’s my honor to help lead the 38 member lotteries with a strategic plan to help each one responsibly maximize profits for all the good causes they support.

“Powerball is the number one product of the Multi-State Lottery Association and has successfully helped generate billions for good causes. Each member lottery offers one or more multi-jurisdictional game, and all profits are retained by the individual lotteries to fund projects or purposes approved by their authorising legislatures. 

“In Indiana alone it helps us contribute to police, firefighter pension funds and teachers’ retirement funds to the tune of $30m each.”  

Gambling Commission

Stephen Cohen has been reappointed by the secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as a commissioner of the Gambling Commission for four years from 12 November 2020 to 11 November 2024.

Cohen has over 40 years’ experience in asset management, in Asia, Europe and the USA, after starting his career with Mercury Asset Management and working both as a portfolio manager and in business development. 

HE is also on the board of the Health & Care Professions Council, a healthcare regulator, and is Chair of Audit for both the JPMorgan Japan Investment Trust plc and the Schroder UK Public Private Trust plc.

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As a result, the supplier will now have full control of its own technology development and delivery schedule thanks to a game host licence in the United Kingdom and a B2B licence in Malta.

This is set to help foster platform feature innovation and new in-game mechanics, while also enhancing bespoke support for operators. Moreover, it will also provide overall systems reliance and security, as it transitions to a fully-fledged B2B provider.

Mario Petraglia, director of legal and compliance at Push Gaming, commented: “We are delighted to see our efforts recognised by two of the leading authorities in the online gambling industry. We’ve managed to set up a bespoke operational toolkit to support our award-winning gaming content in record time, propelling us from boutique game developer to the ranks of full-service supplier.

“Compliance is at the core of Push Gaming’s operations and we take great pride in spearheading the development of responsible gaming products in the industry. We look forward to bringing further innovation across all regulated markets in Europe and beyond.”

As well as its acquiring of regulatory approval, Push Gaming has also partnered with BMM Test Labs, with the platform and game content already certified in accordance with the technical requirements of the UKGC and MGA, as well as Sweden, Denmark, Latvia and Estonia. The company also supports operations in Gibraltar, Alderney and Isle of Man.

The announcements build on the deal signed that saw Push Gaming agree to acquire GSI in an attempt to scale up its delivery of products directly to operator partners.

Regarding the acquisition, Push Gaming stated that the purchase will deliver added flexibility and control over its technology, as well as the development of platform functionality, game design and industry distribution.

At the time, James Marshall, CEO and co-founder at Push Gaming, added of the deal: “The acquisition of GSI is a real game changer for us and we’re confident it will help us to become a key player within the industry.

“The launch of our own platform gives us full control of our game development, delivery and operator integrations. We will now also benefit from GSI’s extensive industry knowledge and experience, as well as their fantastic technical team ”

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“How do you balance consumer joy against the potential damage?” McArthur said. “A source of fun for most – and deeply ingrained in British life – but one that can cause harm to some.”

Like Mims Davies, minister for sport and civil society, before him, McArthur welcomed gambling related harm being recognised as a health issue as “a big step forward,” while he also welcomed the sector’s improved attitude to socially responsible gambling.

“But progress has been slower than everyone had hoped,” he cautioned. “‘Responsible gambling’ tends to focus on the individual’s behaviour,” said McArthur. adding that addressing the issues as “gambling related harm” shifts the onus to the operators.

“We using ‘gambling related harm’ as it goes wider than the individual and looks at the affects on families and society.

“We need more diversity in the gambling industry,” he said. “In research, in the understanding of consumer behaviour, in terms of interventional techniques and also with regards to treatment.

“We have made progress,” said McArthur, “but to maximise we need to harness the good intentions of the leaders in the gambling industry and nurture a culture that draws on the wide range of skills and experience – to benefit consumers and wider society.”

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2.07 

LCS became the latest firm to be penalised by the Dutch gaming authority, Kansspelautoriteit, with a €2.07m fine following a number of financial sanctions that have been handed down throughout the year.

This follows a long protracted dispute that initially began in March 2022 when it was discovered players could access the group’s Son of Slots site. In addition to providing an opportunity to access online games of chance, the regulator also noted concern at a focus on the Dutch market.

“The website was accessible from a Dutch IP address and an account could be created and participated in games of chance from the Netherlands,” the Ksa’s noted in its sanctions decision.

Disclosing its reasons behind the amount handed down, the Ksa added that it was determined on the basis of its current fine policy and turnover achieved in the country, among other undisclosed factors.

10

The UK Gambling Commission’s Tim Miller believes it is “vital” that global gambling regulators work together as they all face the same risks and challenges.

The Executive Director of the UKGC made the request during his speech at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 10, 2023.

Miller began by giving an overview of the current British gambling landscape, before going into why it was so important for regulators across the world to collaborate.

“Leading operators are now multinationals. As more North American jurisdictions open up to online gambling or sports betting, we see more and more large British or European operators looking to establish themselves here, in your markets,” he noted.

“And that’s why we think international collaboration is so vital between gambling regulators. Increasingly we regulate the same companies; we address the same risks; we face the same challenges.”

14.5

Australia’s Alliance for Gambling Reform called for a fast tracking of heightened protections after it was revealed that gaming machine losses stood at A$14.54bn through the past financial year.

These figures, generated from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, were reported as “easily eclipsing the losses suffered in 2018-19”. This came in at A12.78bn during the last full period that was uninterrupted by COVID impacted restrictions. 

These latest figures were collected for the Alliance by the Gambling and Social Determinants Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University.

The Nation advocacy organisation is calling on all states to fast-track the introduction of mandatory, precommitment cashless gaming cards. 

396

Optimove released data revealing that most players are exhausted by marketing fatigue from igaming operators, with almost one-third of players feeling overwhelmed by the frequency of promotional messages.

The Optimove 2023 Report of Players’ Preferences in iGaming Marketing surveyed 396 US online players across September and October 2023, aged 21-plus and household incomes of $75,000-plus.

It was discovered that 86 per cent of players don’t appreciate excessive or irrelevant emails, texts, and push notifications from igaming websites, and they unsubscribe as a result. 

Specifically, 30 per cent of players feel overwhelmed by the frequency of promotional messages from operators, but 64 per cent believe the frequency is acceptable.

14.2

Ontario’s igaming market has continued to grow after the province’s regulator, iGaming Ontario, reported an uptick in both total wagers and gaming revenue in the second quarter of the 2023-24 fiscal year.

For the period from July 1 through September 30, 2023, iGO declared total wagers of C$14.2bn, a 132 per cent improvement on FY2022-23 Q2 ($6.04bn), not including promotional wagers. 

Q2’s total wagers were also a slight improvement on what was reported earlier this year following Q1 ($14bn).

The quarter’s gaming revenue increased in comparison to the previous year, rising by 105 per cent to $540m (FY22 Q2: $267m) but it was slightly down against the previous quarter (Q1: $545m).

99

Liquor and Gaming New South Wales was continuing to investigate a number of venues that failed to remove external signage, or attempted to circumvent new rules that were introduced at the start of last month.

Despite a compliance blitz finding almost 99 per cent of pubs and clubs inspected of being free of external gambling-related signage, 16 were discovered to still feature such advertising. 

Liquor and Gaming NSW’s inspection program covered over 1100 establishments across 35 metropolitan and eight regional local government areas. This worked out at a little more than 50 per cent of all venues in NSW with an entitlement to hold gaming machines.

However, ongoing assessments are currently being undertaken regarding delays in removal across certain facilities. Venues that could not provide “clear evidence” of why such delays had occurred will be fined.

400

The Chinese government called on the Philippines to take strong action against illegal offshore operators, in addition to reiterating its commitment to ongoing cooperative efforts between the two.

In a statement, the Chinese embassy in the Philippines noted that the pair maintain close communication and collaboration to “crack down on cross-border crimes”. 

In addition, it was added that protecting the legitimate rights and interests of citizens is also a key priority of the alliance.

The embassy noted that its current assistance has brought a crackdown on “three illegal offshore gambling parks”, with almost 400 Chinese citizens having been repatriated after being identified as part of the cross-border efforts. 

365

Stakeholders must ensure that the final reforms implemented across the UK, following a much publicised Gambling Act review, ensure that jobs and investments across towns and cities are protected for the long-term.

Those were the words of Jo Gideon MP for Stoke-On-Trent Central, who was addressing the ongoing efforts in a timely Betting and Gaming Council blog that comes as a first batch of consultations draws to a close.

Following the white paper’s much delayed publication earlier in the year, this initial wave covers age verification in premises; remote games design, building on earlier work on online slots; direct marketing and cross-selling and financial risk and vulnerability checks for remote operators.

Citing the influence that online gambling juggernaut bet365 has had on her own city, Gideon addressed a debate that she labelled as often being “terse, ill-informed, and frankly patronising”.

6.1

Tabcorp endured a tough first quarter of the financial year, with a trading update revealing that revenue through the period is down 6.1 per cent, primarily due to a significant drop in the group’s gaming services segment.

The company said that a brief performance review was a necessary step due to the July 1, 2023, to September 30, 2023, period being set against a softer macro-economic environment. 

Furthermore, Tabcorp also stressed a desire to keep the market informed, with this update following a pair of regulatory run-ins within the state of Victoria.

Gaming services revenue dropped 12.7 per cent, aligned to the sale of the eBet loyalty and tracking systems provider and lower contracted EGMs in the Max Performance Solutions business year-on-year. A sale of MPS is expected to be completed by H1 2024.

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4

A series of consultations were launched by the UK government and Gambling Commission that are tasked with advancing ambitions of the recent white paper Gambling Act review.

The former is designed to assess online slots, which are deemed “a higher-risk gambling product” that are “associated with large losses, long sessions and binge play”.

In a bid to drive government goals and “update gambling rules for the smartphone era”, the deliberation will consider how to conduct financial risk checks for problem gambling and at what level stake limits should be set at for the aforementioned titles.

Among the government consultations are those concerning a maximum stake of between £2 and £15 per spin, with options to introduce greater protections for 18 to 24-year-olds also possible. These could include lower stake limits of £2 to £4, or requirements on operators to consider age as a risk factor for gambling-related harm.

10

Steve Wynn is to pay a $10m fine and sever all ties with the industry in the state of Nevada as part of a settlement agreement over sexual misconduct allegations.

As disclosed by state regulators, the financial sanction represents the largest handed to an individual within the Silver State. This relates to a Wall Street Journal report from over five years ago.

In addition to accusing the mogul of widespread sexual misconduct, the publication also alleged that employees, including casino managers, sought to cover up the sexual misconduct of which the company’s founder and former CEO stood accused.

Wynn, who at the time cited “an avalanche of negativity” in denying the allegations, offloaded his almost 12 per cent Wynn Resorts shareholding a short time later for approximately $2.1bn.

37.5

Glitnor Group is looking to make significant progress on lofty North American ambitions after detailing the acquisition of a 37.5 per cent stake in PlayStar Gaming Group.

Undertaken via the firm’s venture capital vehicle, named Glitnor Ventures, which was established in November 2022, the company is aiming to enable the brand to soar to “even greater heights” across the US’ igaming ecosystem and beyond. 

PlayStar, launched in New Jersey during August of last year, and Glitnor, which boasts LuckyCasino and Swintt among its primary B2C and B2B brands, will collaborate in a bid to achieve “incredibly high hopes for going forward”.

1

Following “another record-breaking quarter” being revealed in the group’s H1 Interim results, Betsson CEO, Pontus Lindwall, joined the iGaming Daily podcast to discuss the company’s recent performance.

Hosted by Craig Davies, CasinoBeats Editor, this latest episode dived into the group’s recent acquisition movements, what regions the company is eyeing for expansion next, the impact of a certain sponsorship on the group’s LatAm position and potential future M&A manoeuvres.

Lindwall mentioned that the company has been following an operational strategy for around four years that looks to be “paying off”, with a whistle stop tour of a number of region’s beginning in Belgium following a June acquisition of BetFirst.  

25

The Betting and Gaming Council welcomed fresh plans by the UK government that are looking to stamp out illegal online advertisements, as well as heighten protections for the younger generation.

Under fresh plans outlined by Department of Culture, Media and Sport Minister Sir John Whittingdale MP, social media platforms, websites and services will be tasked with taking tougher action to stop children seeing age-restricted adverts for certain products, with alcohol and gambling specifically cited.

As part of the new rules, which it was said would “make advertising regulation fit for the digital age,” fake celebrity scams and pop-up malware from hackers were identified as forming a key part of the clamping down efforts. 

Currently all social media advertisements for BGC members must be targeted at those aged over 25, unless platforms can provide evidence to verify the accuracy of their targeting to over 18s.

16

Per Widerström was named as Chief Executive Officer of 888, with the appointment to become effective as of October 16, 2023, and seeing Lord Jonathan Mendelsohn returning to the role of Non-Executive Chair.

This came after Itai Pazner became one of a number of high profile exits from the group earlier in the year, with the gambling business detailing that he was “immediately leaving office” as both CEO and a Director.

Mendelsohn subsequently assumed the position of Executive Chair on an interim basis while the board searched for a permanent successor.

307.3

Interim Kindred Group CEO Nils Andén reflected on “an extraordinary quarter in many ways”, with growth “in most markets and product segments” reported during Q2.

Amid an ongoing strategic review, which could include potential divestment options, and following significant changes to senior management, the company saw revenue through the quarter close at £307.3m, up 29 per cent year-on-year from £238.7m.

This, Andén said, is aligned to a “continued focus on a strong customer offering,” with April and May cited as demonstrating a particularly solid showing.

4

VBET was named as an official charity and headline partner for Game4Ukraine, the brainchild of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that will raise funds for the region.

Scheduled to take place at Chelsea FC’s Stamford Bridge home on Saturday 5 August, the event will raise money for the restoration of the Mykhailo-Kotsyubynsky Lyceum in the Chernihiv region. The educational institution was damaged by the Russian occupiers in March 2022.

As a result of its partnership, VBET branding will appear on matchday jerseys, with the gaming and sports betting operator to also host a series of promotional activities across European markets, including the UK.

19

Bacta has pleaded for government intervention to help with what the group has labelled as a “labour crisis” that is said to be severely impacting the UK’s hospitality industry.

John White, CEO of the group that represents the gaming machine and amusement industry in the UK, called for the removal of “some of the barriers to being employed in the UK”.

This would see businesses in the amusements and low stake gaming sectors become placed on the shortage occupations list, which comprises those roles deemed by the government to be in short supply within the UK labour market.

White cited the impact of Brexit, as well as the lasting effects on the COVID-19 pandemic, in seeing many European workers returning to their country of birth and not returning to the region. 

50,000

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission issued $50,000 in fines to every retail sportsbook in the state after wagers were offered on unauthorised sporting events.

This saw financial penalties issued to each of Encore Boston Harbor, Plainridge Park Casino and MGM Springfield, after it was previously found that DraftKings accepted 860 wagers on prohibited tennis matches across a period of 12 days.

67,500

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board issued three fines that totalled $67,500, with the regulator also placing an additional seven adults on the state’s involuntary exclusion list.

Following similar actions taken last month, the first of the financial penalties concerned Mohegan Pennsylvania. The gaming venue received a fine of $50,000 for permitting individuals under the age of 21 to gain access to the gaming floor.

One incident saw access gained to gamble on multiple occasions, while another followed suit and was also provided with alcohol.

Elsewhere, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh was penalised $10,000 for allowing someone under the age of 21 to gain access to the gaming floor to gamble, while a $7,500 fine was issued to Rivers Casino Philadelphia after an untrained employee was allowed to deal roulette.

944

BetMGM reported that it is on the “path to profitability” after achieving positive EBITDA for the second quarter. The brand expects to hit near the upper end of its fiscal year 2023 revenue guidance.

In an H1 2023 trading update, the jointly owned MGM Resorts International and Entain operator declared net revenue for the period of $944m, including a same-state growth of 25 per cent from digital operations.

Same-state CPAs improved by eight per cent during the period in comparison to the previous year, while bonus optimisation and the player management programme have made a positive impact as well.

As a result, BetMGM claimed that it is on the path to delivering the upper end of its FY2023 revenue guidance range of $1.8bn to $2bn.

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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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Furthermore, additional licence conditions will also be added in a bid to ensure an improvement plan is overseen, with a third-party audit review regarding compliance with the licence conditions and codes of practice to take place within 12 months.

A total of £14m is due to digital failings at LC International, which runs 13 websites including Ladbrokes, Coral and Foxy Bingo, with a divestment of £544,048.03 made as well as a payment of 13,455,952 in lieu of a financial penalty

The remaining figure was issued to the Ladbrokes Betting & Gaming operation that is responsible for 2,746 gambling premises across Britain, with LBG to voluntarily divest itself of £212,849.86 and pay £2,787,150.14 in lieu of a financial penalty.

Among the social responsibility failings is being slow to interact, or not doing so, with certain customers to minimise risk of experiencing harms. One example cited included an online interaction taking place with a customer reported as spending “extended periods gambling overnight during an 18-month period” where £230,845 was deposited.

It was also discovered that Entain customers subject to restrictions could open “multiple accounts” with other brands, including one individual, blocked at Coral due to a £60,000 spend in 12 months with zero source of funds provided, able to open an account with Ladbrokes and deposit £30,000 in a single day.

One shop customer was also not escalated for a safer gambling review despite staking £29,372 and losing £11,345 in a single month, with local staff or area managers also reported to have not escalated potential concerns with customers sooner.

Regarding this latter point, the UKGC reports that one Entain shop customer was not escalated despite being known to be a delivery driver who had lost £17,000 in a year, while a second was not done so despite staking £173,285 and losing £27,753 over the same time frame.

Moreover, AML shortcomings identified include a failure to conduct online risk assessments, and permitting large amounts to be staked without being monitored or scrutinised. One shop customer, said the regulator, was allowed to stake a total of £168,000 on shop terminals over eight months before due diligence checks were undertaken.

An “excessive reliance” was also found to have been place on open source information, with a failure to conduct enhanced customer due diligence checks soon enough seeing an individual deposit £524,501 between December 2019 and October 2020.

Online customers were also able to deposit large amounts without sufficient source of funds checks taking place, including one example of £742,000 being deposited over 14 months and a second, who was reportedly known to live in social housing, allowed to deposit £186,000 in six months.

“Our investigation revealed serious failures that have resulted in the largest enforcement outcome to date,” commented Andrew Rhodes, UKGC chief executive.

“There were completely unacceptable anti-money laundering and safer gambling failures. Operators are reminded they must never place commercial considerations over compliance.  

“This is the second time this operator has fallen foul of rules in place to make gambling safer and crime free.  

“They should be aware that we will be monitoring them very carefully and further serious breaches will make the removal of their licence to operate a very real possibility. We expect better and consumers deserve better.”  

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In addition, the betting and gaming group, whose domains include StarSports and McBookie, which it operates and manages, will receive an official warning and have additional conditions added to its licence.

The regulator found that Star Racing breached paragraphs two and three of licence condition 12.1.1, which concerns the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as condition 12.1.2. This requires operators based in foreign jurisdictions to comply with the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information of the Payer) Regulations 2017.

Paragraphs one and two of social responsibility code provision 3.4.1 were also violated, which mandate licensees to interact with customers in a way which minimises the risk of customers experiencing harms associated with gambling, and to take into account the guidance on such interaction.

Among the AML shortcomings identified were having ineffective policies, procedures and controls in place at the time of the compliance assessment.

This, the UKGC noted, permitted customers to deposit large amounts before source of funds information was obtained, in addition failing to analyse such data upon doing so.

Social responsibility failures included not demonstrating an understanding of the impact and effectiveness of customer interactions in terms of the minimisation of customer risk.

As a result of failings, which occurred between March 2020 and May 2021, the aforementioned action has been taken. Additional licence conditions will require Star Racing to conduct risk based due diligence on the third parties it transacts with.

This becomes the latest in a slew of financial penalties handed down by the UKGC this year, with Videoslots, via a $2m penalty, 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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In a latest blog update of the regulator’s website, Miller issued an update on the progress made in the interim, as well as outlining “another milestone” that is fast approaching.

Regarding the former, completion of a first deliverable was initially touched upon, which saw the UKGC “reinforce our expectations” on white label arrangements.

Following publication of this guidance, a first tranche of consultations will be launched through the current month, which will be undertaken across a 12 month period. Closing dates are expected to fall in October.

A first batch of consultations related to the Gambling Act review will include age verification in premises; remote games design – building on earlier work on online slots; direct marketing and cross-selling and financial risk and vulnerability checks for remote operators.

Furthermore, these will be accompanied by a pair of discussions unrelated to the review, which concern rules around personal management licences and procedures for regulatory panels.

“Implementing the Gambling Act review is a key part of our work to make gambling safer”

“We’re also progressing in the important work around improving the evidence and data for gambling in Great Britain,” Miller wrote.

“The implementation of our groundbreaking new participation and prevalence research methodology and building the evidence base are both Gambling Act review commitments. 

“We have made further progress towards these aims with the publication of updates on our work to improve our participation and prevalence statistics and the publication of our three-year evidence gaps and priorities review.”

Later in the year, Miller noted that a second round of consultations will be opened up that will look into socially responsible inducements and gambling management tools, with stakeholder engagement set to commence in the coming weeks.

In addition, the UKGC also reflected on the “vital work” in advising the government on amending aspects of the legislation and on implementation of these changes.

This will lead to the creation of a statutory levy, which will see the UKGC collect and distribute funds in line with government direction regarding the destination of the capital.

“whilst the work on implementation picks up momentum, rest assured we won’t be slowing down on protecting consumers”

However, once this system is created, the Commission has said that “it is likely” that the LCCP RET list will “no longer be relevant or needed”.

Furthermore, Miller also issued a reminder that the regulator will continue working alongside relevant parties “to monitor the progress of industry to deliver on their voluntary commitments”, such as an ombudsman and single customer view.

“Full implementation of the review will be a job of several years, especially when you include evaluating the impact of any changes,” he concluded.

“But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to progress things as quickly as possible. We are determined to make progress at speed.

“Implementing the Gambling Act review is a key part of our work to make gambling safer, fairer and crime free over the next few years. 

“But so is our day-to-day work of ensuring compliance with our rules. So whilst the work on implementation picks up momentum, rest assured we won’t be slowing down on protecting consumers across Great Britain either.”

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In addition, the operator, which counts 19 websites on a white label basis, including Duelbits, Stake, SportPesa and Sportsbetio, has also received an official warning and had additional conditions added to its licence.

“Additional licence conditions setting out action the licensee must take to ensure thorough due diligence checks are conducted have been added to the operator’s licence,” the regulator said.

Social responsibility shortcomings identified include permitting customers to continue to gamble after hitting multiple safer gambling alerts without intervention, as well as relying on automated interactions, as opposed to human, when such levels were reached.

In addition, it was also said that the group failed to assess the effectiveness of these interactions, or whether additional steps were required.

On an AML basis, the UKGC suggested that TGP Europe did not have “a money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessment which adequately addressed risks, such as customers providing false or stolen identification documentation and risks linked to complex or unusually large transactions”.

It was also discovered that the firm had not adequately considered and mitigated the money laundering risks posed by B2B relationships, and had ineffective policies and procedures in relation to due diligence undertaken prior to white label agreements.

“The licensee co-operated with the Commission throughout the investigation and took corrective steps to address the identified failings,” it was added.

Last week, 888 vowed to continue collaborative efforts alongside the UKGC 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 became the latest UKGC regulatory action issued this year, following 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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