UKGC Hammers William Hill
With the UK gaming industry under strict scrutiny at the moment, William Hill found themselves at the centre of a massive controversy that ended with them receiving a seemingly massive £6.2 million fine.
The fine was related to money laundering charges and failure to protect their members and others from danger. This fine has a huge implication for the industry. When one of the most trusted names in gaming fails in such an epic manner as this, it reflects poorly on the entire industry and hurts gamer confidence. While the fine is certainly a big one, it still only reflects what William Hill makes in about a week’s time so it is actually less than a slap on the wrist.
The UK’s gaming industry was already walking on eggshells after news emerged that UK MP’s are actually fighting to limit the maximum wager allowed at FOHT’s to £2, now MP’s have pounced on this recent William Hill debacle to really push their measures through.
The Damning Findings
The UK Gambling Commission investigation into William Hill uncovered ten customers who have been using the casino to launder money for over two years. The report went further to state that there was a systematic failing by upper management to meet the social responsibility standards put in place to keep customers safe , nor have they met the legal standards of preventing money laundering, which in turn netted the company £1.2 million in transactional income.
The £5 million fine the company received will be added to the £1.2 million the company made from these fraudulent transactions, meaning the total fine comes to the tune of £6.2 million. The UKGC said that this incident will hurt both consumer confidence and government confidence as these failings puts the entire industry’s credibility into doubt. If the regulator cannot regulate the operators then the system is broken.
UKGC Still Performing Vital Function
We can at least say that the UKGC has caught the company in the act and we may even debate that the fine is fair, but if these failings have come in from upper management level, it seems that these failings will pop up again.
If the people at the top are not taking responsible gambling seriously then what are the chances of a fair and free industry where these companies are the major players. Hopefully the fine will be enough of a deterrent for other operators so that we can see them up their game to keep their members safer than ever before in an industry that is more convenient than ever before.
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