The month in regulation: Blocks, bans and breaking records
A round-up of the latest news and insight from the regulatory and compliance sector
Gambling Commission levies record £13m fine against Caesars over VIP failings
The Gambling Commission (UKGC) has issued its highest ever regulatory penalty, fining land-based casino operator Caesars Entertainment £13m for “systemic failings” in its VIP programmes.
UKGC investigators also identified failings in the operator’s social responsibility, anti-money laundering (AML) and customer interaction practices.
Following the investigation, three senior managers at Caesars have surrendered their personal UKGC licences, while a UKGC investigation into other personal management licence holders at Caesars is currently ongoing.
The failings, which took place over a two-year period between January 2016 and December 2018, include failing to conduct adequate source of funds checks on a customer who was allowed to deposit £3.5m and lose £1.6m over a period of three months.
HSBC enacts UK credit card gambling ban
HSBC will no longer allow its existing account customers to make gambling-related transactions on UK credit cards.
Under the new restrictions, all credit card transactions which HSBC identifies as gambling will be automatically declined.
The high street bank has said the move is to “provide an extra layer of protection” for its customers. The measures will also include spread betting and the use of a HSBC credit card for gambling outside the UK.
HSBC revealed more than £16.5m was gambled on UK credit cards since the turn of the year, with an average transaction value of £65, while HSBC’s UK customers have spent more than £1.6m on gambling since the UK went into lockdown in March.
Spain accelerates ad restrictions to coincide with Covid-19 lockdown
Spain’s operators will only be allowed to advertise gambling products between 1am and 5am under new Covid-19-themed rules announced by the country’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
The new rules apply to TV, radio and online video sites including YouTube.
Bonus and promotional offers by operators is also prohibited, together with a blanket ban on direct marketing to players via email.
The new measures come after the Spanish government was notified by several gambling-related harm treatment providers of an increase in potential problem gambling calls as result of the lockdown.
Spain’s government previously proposed the measures as part of a focus on the public health effects of gambling-related harm on Spanish players.
Sweden to set strict deposit and bonus limits for remainder of 2020
Swedish-facing operators are in the process of dealing with new coronavirus-led online gambling restrictions after the government moved to cap weekly player deposits at SEK5,000 (£400).
Weekly bonuses will also be limited to just SEK100 (£8) as part of measures recommended this month by Social Security Minister Ardalan Shekarabi.
In a press conference, Shekarabi confirmed the restrictions would be introduced to combat a potential rise in online gambling harm during Sweden’s Covid-19 lockdown period.
The government has recommended the restrictions come into force on 1 June and they will be open to consultation until 7 May.
Swedish consumers are now also required to set mandatory limits on playing time when playing online casino games.
Record GambleAware donations surpass £10m voluntary funding mark
GambleAware has reported a record £10.05m in funding from UK operators during 2019/20, the largest annual funding figure received in the charity’s history.
GVC made the largest voluntary contribution to GambleAware in 2019/20, donating £1.4m to the charity, while fellow operators Flutter Entertainment and William Hill each donated £1m.
Bet365 voluntarily donated £868,000 to GambleAware in 2019/20, just ahead of Sky Betting & Gaming and parent company The Stars Group (TSG), which contributed a combined £830,000.
UK operators are asked to donate annually a minimum of 0.1% of their annual gross gambling yield (GGY) directly to GambleAware.
However, five of the UK’s biggest bookmakers in bet365, GVC, William Hill, Sky Bet and Flutter have all pledged to increase this to 1% of GGY over the next five years.