The UK Gambling Commission has fined Buzz Group Ltd following an investigation that revealed the operator had failed to protect its customers from the harms of problem gambling while also failing to implement anti-money-laundering procedures correctly.
Buzz Group Ltd, which operates buzzbingo.com, has received a formal warning and must now pay a fine of £780,000 (€917,890) for the breaches that occurred from October 2019 through to December 2020.
According to a statement released by the Commission, the operator’s social responsibility failures included:
- Financial trigger set incorrectly allowing one customer to deposit £22,400 in five days without any intervention by the operator.
- Systems not accurately identifying potential at-risk player. UK Gambling Commission Fines Buzz Group Ltd for Failing to Protect At-risk Customers
- Staff failed to follow the operator’s own customer interaction procedures for customers that were considered at risk.
Anti-money laundering failures included:
- Staff relying too heavily on the word of a customer when determining the source of funds for a large deposit. One instance saw staff accept a previous large win as a verifiable source of funds for a large deposit. UK Gambling Commission Fines Buzz Group Ltd for Failing to Protect At-risk Customers UK Gambling Commission Fines Buzz Group Ltd for Failing to Protect At-risk Customers
“As a regulator we expect all operators to effectively implement policies and procedures which make gambling safe and crime-free. Every single gambling business should be aware that we do check that these are in place and are being adhered to. If they are not, we will take action.”
The UKGC has had a busy year, issuing fines and penalties to a number of UK bookmakers and online casinos during 2021.
Ciaran has been working within the Gambling Industry as a deep analyst since 2019. His deep knowledge and understanding of all the gambling regulations, and processes makes him a true asset, and an always valuable point of view for Gambling Industry News, allowing us to cover every topics from a brand new perspective.