Videoslots agrees £2m settlement with Gambling Commission over AML and social responsibility failings
One customer was able to deposit and lose £98,000 in six months following inefficient engagement from operator
Videoslots has agreed to pay a £2m settlement to the Gambling Commission (GC) after the regulator uncovered historical social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) failures.
The regulator established that between October 2019 and October 2022, Videoslots failed to comply with multiple points of the GC’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP).
The operator – which runs videoslots.com, videoslots.co.uk and mrvegas.com – failed to implement AML policies, procedures and controls and had “deficiencies and weaknesses” it its responsible gambling controls, according to the GC.
On the AML failings, between March 2021 and April 2022, Videoslots failed to implement its own risk-based process with significant delays in required actions, such as AML reviews or source of funds requests.
In one example, a customer hit several AML triggers and was able to deposit £112,225 but AML analysts at the operator failed to interact with the player.
Videoslots also did not have a sufficient number of AML analysts to process the volume of customer data, which, when combined with a lack of interaction, allowed a number of high-risk customers to continue to gamble significant amounts.
On the social responsibility front, Videoslots failed to put forced deposit limits or playing blocks in place when customers were displaying signs of risk behaviours.
The operator also did not undertake responsible gambling reviews in a timely manner, or to the standard they should have been conducted at.
The firm failed to action interactions when it had information to hand, and also failed to escalate interactions due to an overreliance on customer responses.
Interestingly, the GC also hit out at Videoslots for failing to take affordability into account when deciding whether to allow customers to continue to gamble.
In one example, a customer had a self-declared income of between £60,000 and £80,000 and savings of between £20,000 and £50,000. The customer then went on to deposit and lose £98,000 in six months.
Elsewhere, the same customer who was able to deposit £112,225, lost £58,725 between 21 November 2021 and 7 January 2022. Videoslots failed to interact with the customer on three separate occasions, and attempted to contact the player via an automated email in one such instance.
Videoslots has accepted the GC’s findings and has agreed to pay the £2m settlement.
The GC also noted that Videoslots had been cooperative with the investigation, and outlined that the operational effectiveness was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Videoslots has also taken subsequent steps to rectify the breaches found by the regulator.