UKGC financial penalties surpass £18m in 2017-18

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has revealed it issued more than £18m (€20.1m/$23.6m) in fines to gambling companies during the past financial year.

In its latest enforcement report, covering the period from May 2017 to April 2018, the national regulator said penalty packages were up by £1.6m on the previous year.

The UKGC also featured various case studies and examples in the report where it has handed out fines to companies in an effort to encourage others to ensure that they do not also breach regulations.

Examples include the record £7.8m fine that the UKGC issued to 888 Holdings after the regulator identified failings in its handling of vulnerable customers.

Speaking in the introduction to the report, UKGC chief executive Neil McArthur said the aim of the regulator’s enforcement work is to “protect consumers and the wider public” as well as to “raise standards in the gambling industry”.

McArthur said the UKGC will continue to take “targeted action” that drives a culture where operators act in a way that lowers the risk to licensing objectives and reduces gambling related harm.

In addition, McArthur said the regulator is keen for likened operators to put the interests of consumers first, as well as be open and co-operative with the UKGC.

McArthur added: “In my view, effective regulation requires a balance between deterrence and advice and guidance.

“We want operators to pay attention to the lessons set out in this document; we want them to focus on ways to make gambling fairer and safer for consumers in Great Britain.

“We also want operators to collaborate and invest the same amount of resource, technology and research into building better protections for consumers, as they do to creating new products, or advertising and marketing campaigns.

“As a regulator, we will continue to set and enforce standards that the industry must comply with to protect consumers.”

Related article: 888 fined £7.8m for failing to protect vulnerable customers