The Gambling Commission has suspended the operating licences of In Touch, stating concerns about its suitability to carry out licensed activities. The suspension is effective immediately from 4 September. The Commission highlighted issues related to money laundering, fair and transparent terms, practices, and reporting key events. In Touch holds British licences for online casino, bingo, and gambling software. Some of its brands include Bonusboss.co.uk, Cashmo.co.uk, Casino.mfortune.co.uk, Casino2020.co.uk, Drslot.co.uk, Jammymonkey.com, Mfortune.co.uk, Mrspin.co.uk, Pocketwin.co.uk, and Slotfactory.com.
In response to the suspension, In Touch has surrendered its licence and is reaching out to customers regarding their accounts. The company aims to return any outstanding balances to players through their registered payment methods. Customers have until 6 March of the following year to log in and manually withdraw any remaining funds. They can contact customer support via live chat for assistance. However, players will no longer be able to access games or deposit funds on any of the sites due to the suspension. In Touch will continue to remind users to withdraw their funds. After the 6 March deadline, the websites and apps will close, and customers will no longer be able to access their accounts. In Touch will retain any remaining balances. Customers who wish to access their funds after the closure date must contact customer support via email.
The suspension will persist during the Commission’s review of In Touch and its activities, conducted in accordance with section 118(2) of the Gambling Act 2005. The review is being carried out under section 116 of the Act. Earlier this year, In Touch was fined £6.1m (€7.1m/$7.6m) by the Commission for multiple social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) failures. The operator did not pass a compliance assessment in March 2022, leading to the fine. Some of the social responsibility failures included delayed interaction with a customer flagged for erratic play patterns and extended periods of play. AML failures involved inadequate consideration of the risk factors such as a user’s connection to high-risk jurisdictions, being a politically exposed person (PEP), or having links to PEPs in their anti-money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessment.
