Gambling operator L&L Europe, which runs several casino sites and sportsbooks in the UK, has reached a £900,000 settlement with the UK Gambling Commission over “unfair” withdrawal terms, as well as social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures (AML).
The operator – which runs sites such as All British Casino and Fun Casino – was found to be in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for restricting customers to one withdrawal at a time and requiring them to wait until one request was completed before attempting another withdrawal.
AML failings included inappropriate controls for identifying risks associated with money laundering and terrorist financing, while the company also did not follow its own customer due diligence procedures, including not considering the risks posed by newly-opened bank accounts or money that was not evidenced as coming from employment, business income or savings.
As for social responsibility failures, these included the failure to activate safer gambling alerts across the company’s full suite of websites.
“A basic expectation is that when you have winnings you can withdraw those swiftly without hindrance from unfair terms and conditions or the operator failing to carry out checks at an earlier stage. That is essential to consumer trust,” said Sue Young, the Gambling Commission’s executive director of operations.
“There may be occasions where a gambling business can ask consumers for information at withdrawal to fulfil legal obligations, but this was not the case here, she added. emphasising that the operator’s AML and social responsibility failings were not the main focus of this fine.
“We hope this case sends a clear reminder to the industry that, although much of our enforcement action frequently relates to anti-money laundering and social responsibility failings, we will not hesitate to act when we see incidents of gambling not being fair and open,” added Young.
