Press release Regulatory action against Casumo 25 March 2021 A gambling business will pay a £6m fine and undergo extensive auditing after a Gambling Commission assessment revealed social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures. Casumo - which runs casumo.com - will also receive an official warning as a result of the Commission investigation. Social responsibility failings included: Not putting into effect policies and procedures for customer interaction where it has concerns that a customer’s activity may indicate problem gambling, and this resulted in: One customer losing £1.1m over three years without being subject to a responsible gambling interaction. A second customer losing £65,000 in one month without being subject to a responsible gambling interaction. A third customer losing £76,000 over seven months without being subject to a responsible gambling interaction. Not taking into account the Commission’s guidance on customer interaction, and this resulted in: The operator not carrying out a responsible gambling interaction on a customer who lost £89,000 in a five hour period. The operator not carrying out a responsible gambling interaction on a customer who lost £59,000 in a 90 minute period. Anti-money laundering failings included: Customers were allowed to deposit significant sums of money without sufficient AML checks being conducted. Source of Funds (SOF) checks were insufficient. Payslips and invoices presented as evidence of SOF were not corroborated with bank statements (or other evidence). Bank statements produced were not assessed appropriately. Examples include incomplete bank statements which only showed credits into the customer’s account. The balance figures on a customer’s bank statement had been redacted. Inadequate checks of documentation for authenticity. No assessment or limit of how much a customer should be allowed to spend based on known income, wealth or any other risk factors. Winnings from other gambling operators were accepted as SOF, without further investigation. Not ensuring that its policies, procedures and controls were implemented effectively, kept under review, revised appropriately to ensure that they remain effective and take into account any applicable learning or guidelines published by the Commission from time to time. As part of a new licence condition, Casumo must, at its own expense, instruct a firm of independent auditors to carry out an audit to examine transactions that have taken place post 1 July 2020 to ensure that it has effectively implemented its new policies, procedures and controls, and is compliant with the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice.

How can a company who has allowed a player to lose over £1m without any player interaction be permitted to operate an online gambling business. There are exception reports created each and every day. This was intentional and the persons running this casino are not fit and proper people to run an online business either because they are intentionally allowing this or are just flat out incompetent.

All about the money PS. I work within compliance and my industry that this applies to has recently breached regulated guidelines as well.  The same everywhere, if money is coming in then a blind eye is turned.

But they ask me to send a photo of my face standing next to that days newspaper after £300 worth of deposits lifetime. Cunts. 

yeah  Jimboscooker  that's what I was about to say, how can they go from one requiring SOF from literally everyone for minimal deposits and playtime, to letting a player lose over 1M without the correct checks. Another reason to suggest that they were intentionally trying to push UK players away from their brand. Was all these people UK players? assuming so if they've been fined by the UKGC

Jimbo

It makes my blood boil seeing stuff like this as it is people like this who operate in such a poor way that spoils it for everybody else.

The very fact this this is an online gambling site where all data and transactions are easily allied to an individual makes it worse. There is no excuse for this and that's why I believe it was entirely intentional. No sanction other than outright revocation of the licence (or at least the holder of the licence) is enough. No person who acts in this way ought to be permitted to hold such a licence and lifetime bans are wholly appropriate. Where a licence holder operates through a proxy there should be no limit on their personal liability irrespective of organisational structures.

The UKGC should openly publish the ultimate controlling interest in each casino and this ought to be an individual or a group of individuals (who would be jointly and severally liable) should this type of thing happen. This would be the same as the obligation for directors in UK companies having to declare Persons of Significant Control.

Where the person is not a UK national or not domiciled in the UK there should be an insurance policy or security bond put in place by that individual to allow for the collection of fines and penalties. There should be no ability to hide behind  the shield of limited liability companies or by seeking refuge in foreign jurisdictions.

weemonk is absolutely correct that where there is money involved compliance is necessary but it seems like so many of these gambling companies are stickimng two fingers up to the regulators and treating these fines like a cost of sale. The owners need to feel the pain personally both by being named and shamed and any fines being levied upon the individual in the first instance.