Gambling bosses warned over customer safety and anti-money laundering policies

Senior management at gambling operators will come under increasing focus after the industry was told it must do more to support customers at risk of harm.

The Gambling Commission's latest Enforcement Report described many anti-money laundering (AML) procedures in the sector as not being "fit for purpose" and promised "further draconian action" if lessons were not learned.

Over the last 12 months the commission said it had carried out more than 160 investigations, while operators had paid £19.6 million in penalty packages after failing to comply with commission rules.

Gambling Commission chief executive Neil McArthur said: "I want gambling consumers in Britain to be able to enjoy the fairest and safest gambling in the world and I want gambling operators to work with us to put customer enjoyment and safety at the top of their corporate agenda.

"As the report shows, we will be tough when we find operators bending the rules or failing to meet our expectations, but we also want to try to minimise the need for such action by providing advice, a programme of support material and compliance activity to help operators get things right in the first place."

Enforcement action has resulted in a variety of sanctions against operators and their senior management, including the surrender of three personal management licences.

Gambling Commission executive director Richard Watson said: "What we tend to do now is when we see failings in organisations we are also focusing on who are the individuals accountable for that.

"We don't want it to get to a situation where the question is 'can we afford the fine?' We want the industry to say 'We want people who take their responsibilities seriously'."

Watson added: "We are focusing on the individuals to make sure the message sinks in. The fine alone isn't the full outcome. I think it is really important we try to change attitudes and make sure people think there is a consequence here."

The report said that "again and again" operators' AML policies, procedures and controls were found to be not fit for purpose.

Watson said some operators based overseas in the online casino sector had not improved their policies in order to meet legislative requirements in Britain.

He added: "Operators came into the UK market but they kept the practices or standards which mirrored where they were before. They just didn't bring themselves up to the requirements we've got for consumer protection."

Watson said the report was not just a warning to the industry to raise standards but also included guidance to help operators in areas such as affordability checks.

"We have tried to incorporate good practice guidance that operators can take on board. Knowing your customer is about understanding how much income they are going to have, what's going to be a norm for each person and what would be appropriate for them and tailoring your safety measures from there.

"What we are trying to do is position this as both a reflection that they definitely need to raise standards but within it are working tools for the industry to be able to do that."

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