The UK Gambling commission (UKGC) have penalised online gambling company 32Red for not properly protecting a consumer from gambling related harm and money laundering failures.The investigation focused on dealing with consumers over the course of 2 and a half years, from November 2014 to April 2017. It emerged they allowed £758,000 of deposits to be made without carrying out social responsibility or money laundering checks.
Problem Gambler
It was revealed that during that time there were at least 22 incidents which indicated the customer was a problem gambler. The 22 incidences where Customer A referred to issues or made complaints which could indicate problems with gambling. The incidences should have led to a customer interaction, but instead they were each met with a bonus being applied to the account.There were three distinct types of contact:
- poor performance – eg “I have had enough of the site not performing well”
- spending too much – eg “I’ve deposited quite a sum”
- frustrated, fed up, chasing losses – eg “all I seem to do is deposit”.
Indications of harm included admissions to 32Red staff that they had spent too much, displaying frustration and chasing losses. The Commission investigation also showed that 32Red failed to check that the customer could afford their spending on the site.
Encourage To gamble More
Richard Watson, Commission Executive Director, said: “Instead of checking on the welfare of a customer displaying problem gambling behaviour, 32Red encouraged the customer to gamble more.32Red made full admissions to the breaches in an initial meeting. The operator has implemented a number of changes and improvements to processes and procedures, both immediately upon this incident coming to light, and subsequent to the acquisition by Kindred Group plc.What has your experience been like when you’ve played at 32Red?Did you find that they avoided interaction or did they have a happy to help approach?Were you offered free bonuses when you expressed concern?We would love to hear from you and what your person experience was like.