The UK National Lottery operator Camelot has found themselves on the wrong side of he UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) after what has been described as “sufficiently serious” failings with regards to governance.
What happened
The UKGC announced the news recently, which was the result of an investigation that commenced in December of 2016.The investigation identified several failings at Camelot, including a launch of an app in 2016 that told players they had losing tickets when they, in fact, had winners.The investigation was frozen temporarily in February last year (2017) in order for Camelot to implement their Operational Excellence Program, before being renewed in November.The probe was then expanded to include “other controls-related failures that had emerged subsequent to the start of the investigation”.
The results
The UKGC’s conclusion is that the combination of the issues with the app described above, as well as failings in Post Office control, security measures, direct debit failings that led to the temporary prevention of ticket sales, and the publication of incorrect or incomplete Lotto results on line was enough for the Commission to impose a financial penalty.The total fine given is £1.15 million, with Camelot being commended by the UKGC on “[engaging] positively” with the investigation, and working to “update and enhance its procedures and controls to mitigate the risk of further issues”.This is the latest in a string of fines the UKGC has imposed on Camelot, including £3 million in late 2016 for paying out on a fraudulent jackpot claim, and £300,000 earlier that year for posting incorrect results.The Lotto operator was also hit with a £100,000 fine way back in 2014 for calculating the jackpot amount wrong.The reaction from the UKGC, however, suggests that Camelot may be learning from their mistakes.