Rank Group subsidiary loses fine appeal against the UKGC
Daub Alderney sees cases dismissed by court after challenging £5.85m fine from September 2021
A court has rejected Rank Group subsidiary Daub Alderney’s appeal against the £5.85m fine handed out by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) in September 2021.
The operator was hit with the fine after the regulator established social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) failings relating to its online offering.
Daub Alderney, which has since surrendered its UKGC licence, operated online brands Aspers and Magical Vegas.
Daub Alderney was formerly a subsidiary of Stride Gaming but Rank Group took over responsibility of the business in October 2019 when it acquired Stride Gaming and its technology for £115m.
During its historical investigation at the time, the UKGC found examples of social responsibility and AML failings at the firm.
One such example saw a customer lose £43,410 over four months, despite displaying clear evidence of gambling-related harm, by using four different payment cards in one day and reversing £133,873 in requested account withdrawals.
Another customer received just two safer gambling messages and one pop-up in a month-long period with the firm while losing £40,500.
Following the fine, Daub Alderney appealed to the First-Tier Tribunal on the grounds that the financial penalty was excessive, unfair and disproportionate.
However, the court has dismissed the appeal and said the penalty was a “fair and reasonable regulatory response”.
In her comments following the dismissal of the appeal, Judge Jacqueline Findlay said: “I find that there were serious breaches which were similar to the breaches for which a substantial financial penalty was imposed in 2018 and there are no new facts which persuade me that the decision was wrong.
“I find that the Commission Regulatory Panel did not err in law and complied with its statutory obligations,” she added.
The 2018 financial penalty refers to when the UKGC slapped Daub Alderney with a £7.1m fine after a technical failure in its automated system allowed self-excluded customers to open and access their casino accounts.
Sarah Gardner, UKGC deputy CEO, said: “We welcome the First-Tier Tribunal’s decision to dismiss this appeal.
“We do not take the decision to fine gambling companies lightly but we will always take firm, decisive action against operators who fail to follow rules aimed at making gambling safe and free from crime,” she added.
A Rank Group spokesperson told EGR: “This was an unusual and fairly complex challenge which ultimately centred around our assertion that Rank was being punished for compliance issues within Stride prior to our acquisition of that business.
“The Tribunal has ruled in favour of the regulator. We will not be appealing the judgment and will pay the fine imposed on Rank by the Commission’s Regulatory Panel.”