Gambling Commission hits online firms with £4.5m worth of penalties

Four gambling businesses have been hit with penalties totalling £4.5 million by the Gambling Commission as part of its ongoing investigation into the online casino sector.

InTouch Games Limited will pay £2.2m, Betit Operations Limited will pay £1.4m, MT Secure Trade will pay £700,000 and BestBet Limited will pay a total of £230,972.

The penalties have been imposed following failings to put in place effective safeguards to prevent money laundering and keep consumers safe from gambling harm.

The regulator's executive director Richard Watson said: "We have been working hard to raise standards in the online industry to ensure that gambling is crime-free and that the one in five people in Britain who gamble online every month can do so safely.

"But our work will not stop here. As a regulator, we will continue to set and enforce standards the industry must comply with to protect consumers.

"We expect operators to know their customers and to ask the right questions to make sure they meet their anti-money laundering and social responsibility obligations."

Over the last 18 months the commission's investigation has involved 123 online operators, with three firms – Casumo, Videoslots and Daub Aldnerney – receiving penalties worth £14m in November last year.

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