If you’ve been following international gambling news over the past few years, you’ve probably had a feeling that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is handing out a whole lot more than it used to – you’re right. According to an annual report produced by the UKGC called, Raising standards for consumers Compliance and Enforcement report 2019-20 fines were up 50 percent during the period covering March 2019-March 2020.
The report covers the activities of both land-based casinos and online gambling operators and paints a picture that should be terrifying to anyone holding a UK gambling license. The report states that in 2017-2018, the UKGC handed out around £19.6 million ($25.83 million USD) in fines to operators. From March 2019-March 2020, the UKGC handed out fines totaling more than £30 million ($39.53 million USD).
Those 2010-2020 fines come from around just 12 incidents. During that period, that UKGC fully suspended five gambling licenses and revoked another 11. It all adds up to a group of gambling regulators who are taking their work very seriously. Again, if you’ve been following international gambling news, you know that this is very true.
Over the past few years the UKGC has been considerably more zealous in its pursuit of gambling operators who disobey both the spirit and the letter of the country’s gaming regulations. There is seemingly no idea that’s too out there for the UKGC to investigate and a large number of those investigations seem to go nowhere. But operators should be aware that this is no mirage. It doesn’t just seem like there are more fines being doled out – there are more fines being doled out.