The Month in Regulation: Challenges, Legal triumphs and reform, reform, reform
A round-up of the latest news and insight from the regulatory and compliance sector
UKGC challenges B2B giants to develop game design code by April 2020
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has called on game developers to develop an effective industry code for game design by April 2020.
Speaking at the UKGC’s annual CEO briefing, Neil McArthur confirmed the regulator would adopt such a code, if successfully developed, into the existing licensing codes of practice for UK operators.
According to the Commission, the code should set out the risks associated with each product, how they can be mitigated and a clear explanation of what is acceptable.
The UKGC said it will provide support around terminology usage and ask its Digital Panel of experts to collaborate with operators. To support this, the UKGC confirmed it will run collaboration workshops ahead of the Raising Standards Conference to help frame and inform that discussion.
LeoVegas wins Swedish licence extension
LeoVegas’ Swedish licence has been extended to five years following a successful appeal in the Swedish courts.
In a hearing at the Swedish Administrative Court in Linköping, judges dismissed a prior Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) decision to limit LeoVegas’ Swedish licence to two years.
The limit was originally imposed because of regulatory failings in other jurisdictions, specifically a UK Gambling Commission sanction issued against LeoVegas in May 2018 for misleading advertising and failings in its self-exclusion policies.
Judges said the SGA had not acted disproportionately in limiting the licence but as the failings had occurred in 2016, more than two years prior to the SGA assuming responsibility for regulation, the decision to limit the licence was incorrect.
Betfred to pay £322k for AML failings following UKGC investigation
Betfred has been forced to pay £322,000 by the UK Gambling Commission after an investigation found the bookmaker failed to carry out adequate source of funds checks on a customer who lost £140,000 in stolen money.
The investigation found a customer who had been convicted of a £2m fraud had deposited £210,000 in November 2017 via Betfred’s online arm, licensed as Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited.
The customer opened multiple gambling accounts and spent stolen money via numerous online gambling operators, including Betfred, through which they lost £140,000 during a 12-day period.
The Gambling Commission said the case revealed significant failings in the effectiveness of Betfred’s anti-money laundering (AML) policies and procedures, with Betfred required to pay £182,000 in lieu of a financial penalty.
Bet365, Kindred, Betsson and ATG cleared of under-18 betting by Swedish regulator
The Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) has dropped investigations against bet365, Betsson, ATG and Kindred for offering betting markets on a football match allegedly involving players under the age of 18.
The investigation initially began in April, after several bets were made on the match including first goal scorer and whether the player will score two or three goals during the match.
However, the cases were completed by the SGA this week, with the regulator concluding that most players involved in the match between AIK and IFK Gothenburg on 29 April were over the age of 18.
As such, the SGA found that the operators involved had not violated their licence conditions by offering betting markets on this match and has discontinued further investigations.
French government proposes wholesale reform of French gambling market
The French ministry of public action and accounts has today presented an order providing for the wholesale reform of the French gambling industry.
Under the new order, the current French regulatory structure, which is separated by vertical will be replaced with a new national gambling authority designed to oversee all gambling in France.
In the current system, land-based casinos are regulated by the Ministry of the Interior while retail betting on horseracing and sports betting and lottery games fall under the control of the French budget ministry.
However, under the proposed changes, the new national gambling authority would takeover full regulatory responsibility from all these entities. It would also take over the licensing process for online gambling and betting operators in the French market, replacing ARJEL.