TGP Europe slapped a fine of £316,250 by UK Gambling Commission

TGP Europe has been fined £316,250 by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) due to social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures.

The company, which runs 19 white-label websites including SportPesa, Duelbit, Stake and Sportsbetio, has also been issued an official warning and has had its license updated with additional conditions to ensure thorough due diligence checks are carried out.

Concerning its social responsibility failures, the UKGC found that TGP Europe allowed customers to continue gambling even after such customers had requested help relating to safer gambling multiple times without receiving it. This happened because the company relied on automated responses rather than human interaction. Additionally, TGP Europe would have discovered the ineffectiveness of its automated responses if it assessed them regularly to see if further steps were necessary.

On the AML side, the UKGC determined that TGP Europe did not conduct an adequate risk assessment, including knowing whether customers who have accounts with them are using false or stolen identifications or investigating to find out the source of “complex or unusually large transactions”. The lax AML controls held by the firm also showed in its white-label partnerships as there was no due diligence done with its partners to address money laundering risks.

Although TGP Europe cooperated with the UKGC throughout the investigation and made corrective steps to address the issues, the operator became one of many gambling operators facing regulatory action this year. The UKGC recently issued a record £19.2m penalty to the William Hill Group for similar issues. Other operators that have faced regulatory action in 2023 include 10bet, Intouch Games, TonyBet, Vivaro, Unibet, and 32Red.

Overall, the UKGC’s enforcement against social responsibility and AML failures is ongoing. Gambling operators must ensure they have the necessary policies and procedures to mitigate risks and protect customers, or they could face significant financial penalties and reputational damage.

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