The Gambling Commission (GC) has handed evoke a combined £115,762 financial penalty after its 888 and William Hill brands failed to comply with the social responsibility code provision (SRCP).
WHG (International) Limited, the licensee behind William Hill, and 888 UK Limited were both found to have failed to comply with the SRCP laid out in the regulator’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP).
The GC investigation arose after a “key event submission” from both licensees outside of a licence review.
The breaches related to the identification of individual online customers who have more than one account with the operators.
As per the SRCP on the identification of individual online customers, operators must have effective policies in place to identify multiple accounts held by the same individual.
Beyond that, all accounts held by an individual must be covered by any compliance measures taken by an operator.
For example, all of an individual customer’s accounts must be monitored, and decisions that trigger interactions must be based on behaviours across all their accounts.
Additionally, if a customer self-excludes on one account, that should apply to other accounts they hold with the licensee.
The GC confirmed that the William Hill and 888 breaches related to paragraph three of SRCP Condition 3.9.1.
Paragraph three of SRCP Condition 3.9.1 states: “Licensees which are companies or other bodies corporate must take all reasonable steps to comply with the above provision as if reference to a customer holding more than one account with them included a reference to a customer holding one or more accounts with them and one or more accounts with a group company.”
The regulator did not detail which specific breaches were made by the operators.
Both William Hill and 888 self-identified the breaches and “proactively” reported them to the GC, the regulator said.
The GC added: “Officials note the remedial action that was taken by the licensee[s] and acknowledge that the licensee[s] co-operated with the Commission throughout the investigation.”
Despite that recognition, the GC said it is set to issue invoices to both operators for their respective financial penalties.
WHG (International) Limited and 888 UK, will be handed penalties of £82,687 and £33,075, respectively.
An evoke spokesperson said: “During routine compliance testing, we self-identified a technical issue, which was immediately reported to the Gambling Commission and fixed.
“We are resolutely committed to our responsibilities as a regulated operator and ensuring that our customers play in a safe and responsible way.”
Last month, the GC unveiled changes to its approach to calculating and imposing fines against licensed gambling companies.
The changes, which come into effect from 10 October, will use a sliding scale of seriousness to determine any financial punishment.
The post Gambling Commission orders evoke to pay £115,762 penalty first appeared on EGR Intel.
Separate punishments for 888 and William Hill come after self-identified breaches regarding multiple accounts held by individuals were flagged with the regulator
The post Gambling Commission orders evoke to pay £115,762 penalty first appeared on EGR Intel.