Author: Olivia Cole

Another online gambling operator will be forced to pay a monetary fine imposed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) due to failures to identify gambling-related harm and lack of prevention for money laundering. The main gambling regulator of the British gambling sector launched an investigation after it received reports that Platinum Gaming allowed a convicted fraudster to spend a total amount of £629,420. During the enquiries, the Commission learned that the deposits the customer made were so high and losses so big that Platinum Gaming should have considered imposing some…

The UK Government’s crackdown on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) has resulted in increased losses for the British bookmaker Betfred. The company revealed that its losses have risen to over £40 million due to the stricter rules which the country’s authorities had imposed on local bookmakers. Although the report covers the twelve-month period ending in September 2018 and the official reduction in the machines’ maximum stakes happened in April 2019, the gambling operator claims suffered the loss due to exceptional costs estimated at £119.6 million. According to the announcement made by…

Earlier today, the major regulatory body of the UK gambling industry revealed that a £1.2-million monetary penalty is to be paid by the online gambling operator Gamesys Limited due to its violations of some money-laundering regulations and failures to prevent gambling-related harm. Following police investigation findings that the operator had allowed three individuals to spend stolen money to gamble, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) also launched an investigation into the company’s processes. The watchdog’s probe found that the operator had done nothing to prevent harm despite customers had demonstrated behaviour…

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, plans to force the UK bookmakers to raise no less than £100 million on an annual basis to fund gambling addiction initiatives. The Tory politician is promising to impose a minimum 1% compulsory tax on British bookmakers profits. It is intended that the levy would be used to pay for more research and treatment programs for problem gambling, as the authorities will continue their cooperation with charity organisations. Mr Hancock, who is likely to occupy the Prime Minister position…

The online sports betting and casino gambling operator Unibet, part of Kindred Group, is set to become the first betting brand in the UK to integrate the blocking software of Gamban into its self-exclusion process. This is the second time when Kindred Group partners with Gamban after they first joined forces in April 2018. Now the online gambling operator has extended the two companies’ relationship across its Unibet brand in order to bolster its responsible gambling policy and help players self-exclude themselves from the website for a longer period of…

Online betting operator Lottoland has started legal action against the Federal Government of Australia after a recent investigation found that the company has breached gambling legislation by offering services which it is not allowed to under the existing laws. The probe commissioned by the federal media watchdog was primarily focused on the jackpot betting product of Lottoland that determines winners by pulling numbers from financial markets at opening time, then arrange it into a longer number and then convert it into the winning numbers. At the time when the Australian…

Some of the largest gambling operators in the UK have faced accusations of failing the trust of problem gamblers after an undercover investigation of KentOnline showed some significant flaws in a self-exclusion scheme that should be designed to protect gambling addicts. A reported of the online media presented himself as a gambling addict and banned himself from all brick-and-mortar betting outlets in Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable in order to check on the actual effectiveness of the Multi-Operator Self-Exclusion Scheme (MOSES). Unfortunately, the results have shown that only a few…

According to media reports, a major gambling operator is providing financial inducements to players to place online bets with the company, despite the practice is currently banned on a federal level. The practice is not new to the sector. For years, Australian bookmakers have offered free bets and special bonuses to their punters to match their deposits and encourage them to continue gambling. This, however, has faced the criticism of some experts, according to whom such actions only encourage gambling addiction and has therefore been suspended under a code of…

Today, one of the leading online gaming entertainment and solutions providers on a global scale, 888 Holdings, revealed its trading update for the period from January 1st 2019 to May 18th 2019. The online gambling operator reported what it called an “encouraging” start of the year after its UK revenues rose by almost one-fifth. The Group saw a 6% surge on a like-for-like basis during the above-mentioned period or a 2% increase on a reported basis. According to the official announcement made by the company, this result has been supported…

Another major takeover deal could be underway on the UK gambling market. Today, the British casino and gaming operator Rank Group Plc revealed that it was in what it called “advanced discussions” over a possible acquisition of the online firm Stride Gaming Plc. The takeover offer values Stride Gaming at £114.5 million. Rank Group, which is currently owner and operator of Mecca Bingo, has lately been making investments in online gambling operations as part of its efforts to compensate for the poorer performance of its casinos and bingo halls. The…