The Gambling Commission in Great Britain has fined Genesis Global £3.8m ($5m) and has also suspended its operating licence.
The operator, which runs 14 websites, including genesiscasino.com, casinoplanet.com and casinocruise.com, was suspended after investigations uncovered significant social responsibility and money laundering failures.
Genesis Global has been initially given a warning and was told it must undergo further extensive auditing. The original suspension was lifted following compliance improvements.
However, three months after the lifting of the suspension, the Commission’s inquiry continued and recently concluded with a fine, a warning and an additional licence condition demanding further auditing.
Social responsibility failures included not carrying out meaningful responsible gambling interactions with (or placing any effective restrictions on the account of) a customer who spent £245,000 in three months. Two other such customers were also discovered to have spent £197,000 over six months and £234,000 in a six-week period, respectively.
Money laundering failures included issuing a request of funding source only after one customer had lost £209,000. Another customer was allowed to deposit over £1,300,000 and lose almost half of the money before carrying out a sufficient source of funds check.
Helen Venn, Commission Executive Director, commented: “All gambling businesses should pay very close attention to this case. The Commission will use all tools at its disposal to ensure consumer safety and that extends to stopping a business from actually operating.
“Failing to follow rules aimed at keeping gambling safe and crime-free will never be a viable business option for gambling businesses in Britain.”
Source ; www.gamblinginsider.com