UK-based betting company and online casino Betway have received a record fine of £11.6 million from The UK Gambling Commission. According to the regulator’s statement, the reason for the fine was that Betway violated the requirements of the legislation on social responsibility and the fight against money laundering.
Many companies think that since they are engaged in virtual online business, they will not be treated as strictly as companies that work with clients face-to-face in the real world. In addition, it is much more difficult to trace financial chains on the Internet than dishonest people in business often use. However, the authorities cooled the ardor of one of these companies, making it clear to the leading players in the gambling market that law enforcement agencies have enough technical means to monitor the Internet space and identify violations.
In general, it should be said that companies do not always specifically break the law. Still, online business is a kind of new environment for commodity-money relations and the service sector. Sometimes there are unforeseen situations with a double interpretation; however, online casinos should always be aware of the consequences they might face by not obeying the regulations. The regulated network is one of the essential tenets of online gambling, and that is why Playamo casino online, which is one of the pioneers in responsible gambling, tries to create the gambling environment, where regulations are followed and players are aware of the consequences they might face if they continue reckless gambling.
Betway from the United Kingdom makes money through sports betting, virtual casinos and online poker by operating on the Internet. As a result of the audit, the gambling commission issued an unprecedented fine of £11.6 million. This is a world record! The reason was a violation of working with clients. In particular, the sources of income of people who operated on large amounts were not verified. For example, one of the clients deposited £8 million and spent most of it. Another client contributed and spent £187,000 in 2 days and the bookmaker did not interact on social responsibility with this customer.
According to the Commission, these transactions may be related to criminal business or money laundering. The point, in this case, has not yet been set, the investigation is ongoing. What is the essence of the claim? It consists of inadequate control over the movement of significant funds. According to the Commission, the above 8 million could have been stolen somewhere and transferred to a personal account in a bookmaker’s office to hide them.
Also, a grey scheme for money laundering, that is, legalization of proceeds from crime, is not ruled out. Large cash flows are controlled by law enforcement, tax authorities and banks. It’s not easy to introduce millions of people from legal business. You must confirm the source of receipt. And winnings in casinos and bookmakers are already considered clean. The Commission believes that Betway employees were required to take a more responsible approach to handle such large amounts. They should work more closely with VIP-clients and in some cases check the sources of receipt of funds for deposits. This penalty should push the gaming industry to increase the security of gambling.
