The British Gambling Commission’s latest fine of £9.4m on online casino company 888 is only the third highest in the history of regulated gambling in the country. The online casino operator was charged a hefty fine for negligence and failure to determine its customers’ betting capabilities, following their enormous losses.

It was previously fined £7.8m in 2017 as a penalty for ‘failing customers’ and is the exact cause of the current penalty.

Loss of license

Trouble continues to plague the online gaming operator as the latest debacle is one of a series of issues by 888. The seriousness of the latest issue will result in the Commission reviewing the operator’s license and considering rescinding it.

The fine imposed on 888 is in line with the latest regulatory activity that the government has been considering for gambling in Britain.

Reforms in gambling regulation

The regulation of the gambling market in the UK will follow the yet-to-be-published reforms. The Gambling Commission is likely to introduce norms such as operators having to conduct ‘affordability checks’ of its players. Such a norm is being introduced on the back of the latest debacle by the online operator, 888.

Accusations against 888

The operator is accused of failing to identify whether customers are at ‘risk of harm’ for all deposits. For example, 888 conducted financial checks only if a player had deposited £40,000.

The case against 888 happened after the operator failed to check on a customer who lost £37,000 over six weeks in 2020. Despite the Commission’s directions to operators and companies to be cautious with deposits by people as they were vulnerable during the pandemic.

A second case against 888 is the misleading caution it took in capping the deposit made by an NHS worker for $1,300 when it knew that the worker earned only $1,400.

Gambling Commission’s Chief Executive, Andrew Rhodes, says that the fine is necessary. He stated that it is the British consumer’s right to know that when they are gambling, they are “participating in a leisure activity” which operators are at all times working to ensure are “safe” for consumers by “carrying out checks and ensure money is crime-free.”