Gambling Commission chief says fines have caused industry ‘real distress’
The UK gambling watchdog’s boss has said escalating regulatory action in the UK has made a difference and penalties have caused the industry some “real distress”.
“They are very profitable companies but it does cause undoubted distress,” said chief executive of the Gambling Commission (GC) Andrew Rhodes, in a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday morning.
Fines against betting operators have increased in size in recent years with the past year throwing up the two largest penalties ever levied in the UK.
In March, the GC fined three William Hill Group businesses a total of £19.2m for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failings, the regulator’s largest penalty ever.
Previously, Entain held that record after the GC slapped them with a £17m fine in August 2022 for similar offences.
However, Rhodes said the picture is improving: “We are definitely seeing less egregious cases.”
Compliance level is at 95 per cent this year, up from 20 per cent in the first quarter of 2022-23, he said.
“But we are not seeing their absence altogether,” added Rhodes, who was appointed to the top role at the GC in June 2022 after a year-long stint as interim boss.
On Saturday, the GC suspended In Touch Games’ licence to operate in Britain, suspecting the online betting firm of neglecting rules related to money laundering, fair and transparent terms and practices, and reporting key events.
Last month, 888 Holdings reported revenues of £882m for the first half of the year, largely thanks to its 2022 acquisition of William Hill.
For the same period, Entain said it raked in nearly £2.4bn and £1.5bn in gross profit.
The GC is implementing the government’s white paper, published in April, which aims to tighten up regulations including a statutory levy and stricter checks on losses.