News LeoVegas Gaming Limited accepts Gambling Commission Regulatory Settlement

“The Gambling Commission has published its public statement following the conclusion of its investigation in to LeoVegas Gaming Limited (LeoVegas).

The Gambling Commission’s Chief Executive has said: “The outcome of this case should leave no one in any doubt that we will be tough with licence holders who mislead consumers or fail to meet the standards we set in our licence conditions and codes of practice. We want operators to learn the lessons from our investigations and use those lessons to raise standards. ”

LeoVegas, which is a licensed online casino, bingo and betting  operator was found to have breached Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice as a result of the following activities:

• 41 website advertisements published by LeoVegas or its affiliates misled consumers by failing to include significant offer limitations or by failing to present those limitations clearly enough, breaching social responsibility code provisions 5.1.7(2) and 5.1.7(2)(a), and 1.1.2;
  
• 11,205 self-excluded customers did not have their account balance funds returned to them on account closure, breaching social responsibility code provision 3.5.3(5);
  
• 1,894 customers who had reached the end of their self-exclusion period received marketing material without first agreeing to accept it, which is a failure to adhere to ordinary code provision 3.5.4(5); and 
  
• 413 customers who had reached the end of their self-exclusion period were able to access their accounts and gamble, despite taking no positive steps to return to gambling, resulting in a breach of social responsibility code provision 3.5.3(1).
  

LeoVegas has acknowledged the breaches and has implemented a number of changes to address the concerns identified, as detailed in the public statement.

The Gambling Commission has provided a detailed summary of good practice points for consideration by other remote operators, which include:

• Operators should review relevant marketing rules provided by the LCCP and CAP codes along with Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) rulings;
  
• Making use of the CAP Copy Advice service; 
  
• Completion of internal marketing sign off to include a compliance check;
  
• Control and monitoring of affiliate marketing and practices; and 
  
• Review of Self-Exclusion policies and the effectiveness of procedures; 
  

LeoVegas is to be pay a financial penalty package totalling £627,000.  This includes £13,000 towards the Gambling Commission’s investigative costs and approximately £14,429 in respect of all funds held in self-excluded accounts to be returned to players, where possible, or to be paid to charities for socially responsible causes”.

For further information on this or any other legal related gambling issues contact solicitor Richard Bradley on 0115 953 8500 or email r.bradley@popall.co.uk.