UKGC fines EU Lotto £760k for AML and social responsibility violations

EU Lotto, has been issued a formal warning for the failures that occurred between October 2019 and November 2020

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has imposed a £760,000 fine on Lottoland operator EU Lotto for social responsibility and anti-money laundering violations.

Through investigation on 2 September, the regulator determined that the firm had failed to effectively apply the Commission’s official customer contact instructions, including by failing to recognise regularly changing deposit limits as a sign of gambling-related damage to some consumers.

A lack of proof of appropriate financial and affordability investments to detect if consumers were experiencing or at risk of damage, as well as criticism of the operator’s responsible gaming contacts with users, were among the other service-related failures.

The majority of interactions with users, according to the Commission, consisted of an email explaining available responsible gaming tools without requiring a customer response, and the regulator claims that “there was little evidence of interactions being adapted depending on the extent of potential harm.”

UKGC Executive Director, Helen Venn stated: “This case, like other recent enforcement actions, was the result of planned compliance activity. All operators should be very aware that we will not hesitate to take firm action against those who fail to meet the high standards we expect for consumers in Britain.”

In addition, the UKGC inquiry discovered that the lottery operator failed to adequately evaluate or analyse bank data to confirm client addresses and had no limited accounts after the source of funds queries, according to the UKGC probe.

Customers were also allowed to link third-party debit cards to their accounts – in some cases under a different name than the account holder – and the company was accused of relying heavily on “ineffective threshold triggers” and “generally lacking information” on customer spending limits based on income, wealth, and other risk factors.

Lottoland is completely dedicated to guaranteeing the highest standards of compliance in all of the territories where the website operates, according to CEO Nigel Birrell. The fine, according to Birrell, was linked to legacy problems with some compliance measures that have already been resolved.

“Lottoland has extensive compliance measures in place and we are confident that our current policies and processes meet all relevant standards,” said the CEO. “Remedial action taken included significantly increased investment in our compliance function, more than doubling headcount, alongside a host of other initiatives including bringing in third-party support, enhancing training and review of key policies.”

Following Rank Group subsidiary Daub Alderney’s £5.85 million punishment, EU Lotto is the second large firm to face a UKGC fine for social responsibility and AML breaches in recent months.

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