The United Kingdom Gambling Commission has fined Leovegas £1,320,000 for breaches of social responsibility and anti-money laundering controls between October 2019 and October 2022.However, the report found no proceeds were gained by Leovegas in terms of money laundering or spending through the online casino.
Audits
Leovegas, owner of Pink Casino Slot Boss, Leovegas, and BetUK was warned under section 117(1)(a) of the Gambling Act 2005. All of the above will have to go through an initial audit to make sure the correct compliance policy is carried out, including implementing anti-money laundering and social responsibility resources, policies and procedures set out by the UK regulator.LeoVegas failed in various areas of social responsibility including failing to set adequate spend triggers, and time limits set far too high allowing customers to spend longer playing without any interaction from the operator.In terms of interacting with customers, the UKGC found Leovegas failed to interact after indicators of harm were flagged by the system and failed to follow the UKGC 2019 guidance on interaction with customers.
Inadequate Financial Triggers
The commission found Inadequate and ineffective financial triggers carried out on customers as to how much they could afford to spend depending on their income, or any other risk factor.Financial triggers for anti-money laundering were set too high and unrealistic for managing money laundering and terrorist activities.Included in the list of ineffective policies, Leovegas had inappropriate spending levels, allowing high levels of gambling activity to take place in a short time frame, without gaining sufficient knowledge as to the customer’s financial situation leading to huge losses in some cases.Gambling Commission Director of Enforcement Leanne Oxley said, “We identified this through focused compliance activity, and we will continue to take action against other operators if they do not learn the lessons our enforcement work is providing.“The case is a further example of operators failing to protect customers and failing to be