The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is investigating 17 online gambling companies for potential lapses in their efforts to stop money laundering, and other criminal activities, through their sites. Five of those operations could, potentially, lose their gaming licenses. It’s a major move for the Commission that suggests it will be keeping its promise to clamp down on online gambling operators.
Though news of the investigations broke late last week neither the UKGC nor the news media have announced the names of the firms that are under investigation.
In a letter to the online gambling industry, that also served to announce the investigation, the UKGC fired a warning shot to operators about the importance of complying with regulations designed to thwart money laundering and other forms of fraud.
On the off chance that no one in the industry was getting the message, Sarah Harrison, Gambling Commission Chief Executive of the UKGC spelled out the Commission’s strategy quite plainly saying:
It is vital that the gambling industry takes its duty to protect consumers and keep crime out of gambling seriously. The Gambling Commission’s new strategy sets out our vision for a fairer and safer gambling market. The action we are taking to examine online casino operators’ compliance with money laundering and customer interaction requirements is just one example of how we will be relentless in turning that vision into reality.
Online gambling operators were also put on notice that they should no longer be hiring compliance officers who lack the experience and skills required to properly do their jobs. In short, UK gambling regulators were not kidding around when they said they would be clamping down on online gaming operators in 2018.