Last update: May, 2024
The United Kingdom Gambling Commission ranks among the world's toughest gambling oversight bodies. Recently, this steadfast commission has penalized operators failing to meet its stringent criteria.
On January 25, 2023, the commission reported InTouch Games, an online gambling operator, as its most recent offender. Following an exhaustive investigation, the UKGC imposed a hefty £6.1 million fine for the operator's breach of anti-money laundering and social responsibility regulations.
The official report detailed that InTouch Games was faulted for numerous social responsibility lapses. These include inadequate interactions with users over extended and erratic gaming sessions until flagged.
The UKGC also criticized the operator for accepting a customer's unverified claim of earning £6,000 per month, particularly since the customer's gaming occurred at what the commission termed 'unsociable hours.'
The regulatory commission found evidence of anti-money laundering breaches, such as the following:
This isn't the first time InTouch Games has faced scrutiny from the commission. Back in 2019, the operator incurred a £2.2 million fine for inadequate anti-money laundering procedures and failing to protect consumers from gambling-related harm. They weren't the only ones penalized; others like Betit Operations Limited and MT Secure Trade also faced similar actions.
Two years later, in March 2021, UKGC levied a £3.5 million fine on ITG for repeated social responsibility and money laundering failures. Unreasonable and opaque terms, including undisclosed bonus deposit limits and validity periods, were also part of the charges.
Responding to these continuous issues, UKGC's Executive Director of Operations, Kay Roberts, emphasized the necessity of ITG showing marked improvement. Roberts noted that although some progress had been achieved, there is substantial ground yet to be covered.
He stated that the £6.1 million fine is a clear indication of the commission's commitment to escalating enforcement in cases of repeated lapses, serving as a stark warning to licensees.
InTouch Games, established in 2001, is a tech company operating 11 online gambling portals. Known entities include cashmo.co.uk, bonusboss.co.uk, drslot.co.uk, jammymonkey.com, and slotfactory.com. Unfortunately, these sites did not pass the commission's compliance evaluations as of March 2022.
