ITG, which operates 11 websites in Britain including Bonusboss.co.uk, Drslot.co.uk, Cashmo.co.uk, and Slotfactory.co.uk, failed a compliance assessment in March 2022 and faced action from the Commission. The regulatory body identified social responsibility failures, such as delayed interaction with flagged customers exhibiting erratic play patterns and extended play periods. Additionally, ITG accepted a customer’s income claim without verifying it, despite the account being flagged for unusual spending and gambling during unsociable hours.
In terms of anti-money laundering failures, the Commission flagged ITG’s inadequate consideration of risk factors such as customers having links to high-risk jurisdictions or being politically exposed persons (PEPs) or their associates. ITG’s money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessment lacked appropriate policies, procedures, and controls. Furthermore, the operator failed to implement effective measures and neglected to request source of funds information from customers who had deposited and lost £10,000 in a 12-month period.
The Commission identified specific breaches of licence conditions relating to anti-money laundering and the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. ITG also violated Social Responsibility Code Provision (SRCP) 3.4.1 regarding customer interaction. As a result, the regulator imposed a financial penalty of £6.1m under section 121(1) of the Gambling Act 2005. This marked the third instance of regulatory action against ITG, following previous settlements of £2.2m in 2019 and a £3.4m fine in 2021 with a warning for further failures.
“Considering this operator’s history of failings, we expected significant improvement during our compliance assessment,” said Kay Roberts, the Commission’s executive director of operations. “While some improvements were made, there is still work to be done. This £6.1m fine demonstrates that we will escalate enforcement for repeated failures, and all licensees should take note.”
