Unibet Latest Online Gambling Company to Be Fined...This Time in Canada

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has issued Unibet ON Inc with a $48,000 monetary penalty for alleged advertising and inducements infractions of the Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming.

Unibet is alleged to have posted or aired multiple broad gambling inducements that promoted “generous welcome offers” during a three-day period in the month of May.  Standard 2.05 of the commission’s igaming regulatory framework prohibits this type of behaviour.

Standard 2.05 restricts “advertising of inducements, bonuses or credits, except when they are on an operator’s site, or through direct advertising and marketing issued after receiving active player consent”.

“We expect all registered operators to achieve and maintain the high standards of responsible gambling, player protection, and game integrity,” commented Tom Mungham, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar of the AGCO.

“The AGCO will continue to monitor these gaming sites’ activities, and ensure they are meeting their obligations under Ontario’s Gaming Control Act and the Standards.”

Unibet has the right to appeal this decision.

Just this week, The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) handed down a substantial fine £1.36 million (US$1.6 million) against the financial trading firm Spreadex over alleged anti-money laundering and social responsiblity failings.

The UKGC noted: "The company didn’t have mechanisms in place to properly alert it if gamblers spent too much money in too short a time. In addition, it wasn’t properly monitoring accounts to determine if there were signs of problem gambling."

Last week, the UKGC levied the biggest fine ever against Entain, parent company of Ladbrokes.  They were fined £17mn for failure to adhere to social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) safeguards. 

Entain CEO, Kenneth Alexander released a statement following the punitive measures: “Soon after the acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral following meetings and ongoing enquiries by the Gambling Commission, it became clear to GVC that there had been historic compliance failures within certain areas of the operations. Working closely with the Gambling Commission and an independent firm of solicitors, GVC facilitated a thorough, prompt and far-reaching investigation, which has led to today’s settlement. These historical failings were unacceptable and since the acquisition, I have overseen a systematic review of the enlarged Group’s player protection procedures and the individuals responsible for these problems have exited the business. I am confident that, we now have in place a robust and industry leading approach to player protection.

“More broadly, GVC is determined to take the lead in the critical area of responsible gambling, and is taking decisive, tangible action across a range of initiatives. This includes our recent voluntary commitment to increase funding for research, education and treatment projects ten-fold, as well as our decision to end all sponsorship deals that promote our brands on UK football shirts or on pitch-side advertising hoardings. However, there is more to be done and social responsibility and we will continue to work with other gambling companies and the Gambling Commission to raise operating standards.”

- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com