Vbet to pay UKGC regulatory settlement over AML and safer gambling failings

Vbet operator Vivaro Limited has agreed to pay a £337,631 regulatory settlement to the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) after the regulator found deficiencies in its anti-money laundering (AML) and safer gambling policies.

The settlement follows a section 116 regulatory review of the business, carried out following a routine compliance assessment of the Vivaro business.

The regulatory review found failings in Vivaro’s AML and safer gambling processes between October 2020 and June 2021, failings which the regulator suggested came from “weaknesses in implementation” of procedures at the firm.

In respect of AML failings, Vivaro was found to have allowed customers to deposit significant amounts before mandatory KYC (know your customer) checks were carried out, and that the firm did not provide sufficient guidance to staff on how to conduct source of funds checking.

Vivaro’s trigger levels at which additional verification might be required were found to be too high to effectively manage the associated AML risks concerned.

In one instance, insufficient checks were conducted on a customer who was able to deposit £14,850 in two months, while in another instance, a customer provided bank statements showing £270,000 in winnings from another betting account.

In a third instance, Vivaro failed to consider additional risks arising from cryptocurrency funds being used as gambling-related funds.

Additionally, Vivaro was found by the UKGC to have failed in its customer interaction duties relating to minimising risks of gambling-related harm and that existing standards relating to both new and existing customers were insufficient.

One case involved a customer being able to deposit and lose £4,000 within a four-day period.

In another, a customer with a salary of £5,000 a month was able to deposit £20,000 between September 2020 and February 2021, amounting to circa 80% of the customer’s salary in the period, with Vivaro found to have not sufficiently reviewed this level of spend.

“There was a reliance from Vivaro on email interactions when customers hit safer gambling alerts. Whilst the emails were not automated, they were not sufficiently tailored to the customers’ individual circumstances,” the UKGC stated in its regulatory statement.

“There was a poor level of recording by Vivaro, as well as no evaluation of customer use and impact of responsible gambling tools and/or customer interactions for their effectiveness,” the regulator added.

However, the Commission’s investigation found no evidence of criminal spend, and in determining the appropriate outcome, the regulator noted in it’s assessment that Vivaro had taken “proactive and timely action” to address the issues raised and had been open and transparent from the outset of the investigation and fully cooperative throughout.

Vivaro has agreed to an additional licence condition to have a third-party audit of its business practices within 12 months as part of its settlement agreed with the UKGC.

Of the regulatory settlement monies, £302,500 will be paid to the National Responsible Gambling Strategy, which works to address problem gambling in the UK, while £35,131 of funds will be divested from Vivaro.

A further payment of £15,606.50 will be made to the UKGC to fund its investigative costs.