The U.K. Gambling Commission found during an investigation that the Casumo Services Limited firm had failed to safeguard players from anti money laundering and disregarded required social responsibilities. The revelations from the UKGC probe will cost the online casino operator a hefty fine of £6 million.
The discovery by the regulator revealed the Malta based online gambling company allowed a gambler on its Casumo domain to lose around £1.1 million over a three year period without any intervention or action. The report also revealed another player who lost about £65,000 in one month as well as a third better who had managed to lose £59,000 in just 90 minutes all without any contact from the services provider Casumo.com.
The Commission was critical of the firm’s lack of funding evidence by allowing patrons of the online casino to use invoices and payslips not corroborated with official bank statements as evidence of funds for wagers. The U.K. gambling authority said, utilizing an official statement, that the problem regarding non compliance was exasperated by the operator’s failure to impose internal spending limits normally based on the known wealth, income and other important factors concerning its players.
The regulator said it requires all licensed online casino operators within its jurisdiction to abide by the Social Responsibility Code. The code says the operator must ‘interact with customers’ so as to minimize ‘the risks of customers experiencing harms associated with gambling’. The requirement must by associated with actions to identify potentially at-risk gamblers. Customers at the Casumo.com web domain were permitted to deposit ‘significant sums of money’ without undergoing source of funds research leading to the failure of anti money laundering guidelines.
Executive Director for the U.K. Gambling Commission Richard Watson said that Casumo Services Limited has also been issued with an official warning. Watson commented, “This case was brought about through planned compliance activity and every operator out there should be aware that we will continue to take firm action against those who fail to raise standards.”
The licensee has accepted the decision by the Commission.
