Gambling firm, Betway has been hit with a fine of £11.6m for letting people gamble with stolen money and not protecting gambling addicts.
Also, campaigners have advocated for the suspension of the online gambling firm’s licence pending further investigations.
This comes after the industry regulator found that a VIP customer had deposited £8m and went on to loose £4m over a four year period.
To add on, the regulator also found that Betway failed to make necessary checks resulting another gambler had lost £187,000 in two days
In their investigations, the commission found that a sum of £8.8m that was suspected to be from criminal proceeds had flown though Betway’s business.
Gambling Commission executive director, Richard Watson Betway did not take the welfare of its customers seriously.
“The actions of Betway suggest there was little regard for the welfare of its VIP customers or the impact on those around them,” Mr Watson said.
What the Gambling Regulator is Targeting on Betway
The commission is probing the use of VIP schemes. In addition, these schemes are accounts of people who gamble large sums of money, casinos use these to ensure that these customers continue to bet.
More so, these VIP customers are given managers who will give them bonuses in order to encourage them to gamble. The bonuses are offered to them if they have not gambled for some time. Many of these clients are said to have been found to have a gambling problem.
The VIP customers are the ones believed to have been using stolen money to finance their gambling activities.
Mr Watson also said that the regulatory authority wanted to protect customers.
“We are pushing the industry to make rapid progress on the areas that we consider will have most significant impact to protect customers.
“the treatment and handling of high value customers is significant piece of that work and operators are in no doubt about the need to tackle the issue at speed,” Mr Watson said.
He added that “We have set tight deadlines for when we expect to see progress.
“If we do not see the right results then we will have no choice but to take further action. This case highlights again why progress needs to be made,” he said.
Conclusion
The regulator is more concerned by the welfare of casino customers. Also, the regulator wants casinos to protect their customers.
FAQs
[accordiongroup id=”327″][accordion group=”327″ title=”Is Betway a Trustworthy Company?” active=”true”]The company is licenced by the Lotteries and gaming Authority of Malta. This means the company is trustworthy.[/accordion][accordion group=”327″ title=”How can I join Betway?” active=””]firstly, visit Betway.co.za and sign up . secondly, you will have to enter your email address and mobile number. The email address is optional . Additionally, you will need your ID.[/accordion][accordion group=”327″ title=”Who is the owner of Betway?” active=””]Betway Group Limited is listed as the owner of the company. Secondly, the Group is based on the British Virgin Islands. The company appointed a Maltese lawyer Anthony Axisa and his consultancy firm, Cybergaming to run the day to day business of Betway. The Chief executive of the company is Anthony Werkman.[/accordion][accordion group=”327″ title=”What is the maximum payout that you can get at Betway?” active=””]The maximum payout that a gambler can get is £100, 000. 00[/accordion][/accordiongroup]