A Gambling Commission assessment of an online gambling business has led to the operator overhauling its approach to social responsibility and the prevention of money laundering. The assessment - part of the regulator’s ongoing compliance work - identified failings in the way online operator White Hat Gaming identified and managed customers who were at higher risk of money laundering and problem gambling. Inadequate anti-money laundering and social responsibility procedures led to failures including not establishing the source of funds for a customer who lost £70,000 in three months and ineffective interaction with both a second customer who lost £50,000 in just six hours and a third customer who lost £85,000 in just over one hour. In addition to paying a £1.3m regulatory settlement, White Hat Gaming has committed to an ongoing programme of improvements to strengthen its policies and procedures. These improvements include the automated prevention of more spending once limits are hit, an increase in safer gambling customer interactions, more robust source of funds checks and regular reviews of anti-money laundering controls and processes. The failures occurred on the operator’s www.grandivy.com, www.21casino.com, www.hellocasino.com and www.dreamvegas.com websites. Richard Watson, Commission Executive Director, said: “Through our tough compliance and enforcement activity we will continue our work to raise standards in the industry and continue to hold failing operators to account.” The operator’s £1.3m payment in lieu of a financial penalty will be directed towards delivering the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms. Read the White Hat Gaming public statement below. ENDS

This breach allowed a customer to lose £85,000 in a just over an hour. This is so unbelievably shocking that it beggars belief that the same licence holders can deal with other customers in such a jobsworthy fashion over really quite minor sums.

I like WHG and find their casinos well run and they operate fairly. I have never had reason to complain about them however this article just shines a light on how badly these operators can fail.

Settlement details Decision date: 28 January 2021 The Commission investigated White Hat Gaming’s handling of seven customers’ accounts, following concerns identified at a compliance assessment (referred to as a corporate evaluation) in March 2019.Our investigation identified failings in the way White Hat Gaming identified and managed customers who were at higher risk of money laundering and problem gambling. These failings stemmed from inadequate anti-money laundering (AML) and safer gambling policies and processes.White Hat Gaming cooperated with our enquiries throughout the course of the investigation and has accepted that its policies and procedures in respect of AML and safer gambling were not adequate.  It has accepted it failed to act in accordance with conditions on its operating licence between October 2016 and March 2019. The Commission agreed a regulatory settlement with White Hate Gaming consisting of: £1,334,053.18 payment in lieu of a financial penalty, which will be directed towards delivering the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling HarmsAgreement to the publication of a statement of the facts in relation to this casePayment of £9818.63 towards the Commission’s costs of investigating the case.

pokersmasher - 07/03/2021 at 12:04

This breach allowed a customer to lose £85,000 in a just over an hour. This is so unbelievably shocking that it beggars belief that the same licence holders can deal with other customers in such a jobsworthy fashion over really quite minor sums.

I like WHG and find their casinos well run and they operate fairly. I have never had reason to complain about them however this article just shines a light on how badly these operators can fail.

This. I get sneaky limits which they put on me, don't tell me about or advertise on my account. I have to near beg to get them to tell me what the limit is and that's for a £500 net/loss limit.....which is fair enough. I can at least track where I'm up to with this instead of depositing and the system saying 'nah, no more spins mate, you're at your limit'.

If you look, these are historic cases and they've changed practice now. Always makes me laugh that someone loses big then moans to the UKGC. Take responsibility.

CraigSlots - 07/03/2021 at 14:49

"If you look, these are historic cases and they've changed practice now. Always makes me laugh that someone loses big then moans to the UKGC. Take responsibility."

This. 

Although i do believe these players were found through an audit and not complaints. 

I can barely deposit a grand without being shut down, how did £85k slip through the net? 

True, that's nuts.

Craig, This was exactly the point i was trying to make. As Jimbo has noted these are historical in nature and the UKGC appears content to allow WHG to continue to operate.  I am not sure how bad Genesis were to get suspended however allowing someone to lose £85,000 in just over an hour must be up there with most serious breaches.

weemonk's point is well made and I suppose the inconvenience to players must be a secondary concern now behind ensuring that  they are now adhering to the rules they must operate by.

Notwithstanding how utterly dreadful this breach was, I now look into all casinos before I ever deposit and I think that it is now for the rep to come and explain how HelloCasino would look after players, whether they are GamblersDen players or otherwise, to avoid any member getting into any sort of situation akin to this. The £85,000 may have been lost by a multi millionaire who saw it as pocket change or a drug dealer - we have no way of knowing however there are members on here who could lose a small fraction of this amount and end up in distress.

weemonk is right in that players must take responsibility but let's just accept that sometimes players are depressed, intoxicated, allow family members to play (yes i know that is really stupid but it does happen) or otherwise not acting rationally. There should be a safeguard in place  where it is clear that something is going wrong. I like weemonk baulk at players retrospectively blaming the nasty old casino for stealing their money when it is clear that they are just poor losers however there are instances where players need to be protected from themselves and the casinos must have systems with red flags to help out in these cases.