BuzzBingo Fined for Social Responsibility Failures

Buzz Bingo is at the end of a hefty fine issued by the UKGC. The gambling regulator fined the company a total of £780,000 after breaching social responsibility and anti-money laundering regulations. This was for the period between October 2019 and December 2020.

Social Responsibility and AML Failures by Buzz Bingo Lead to a Fine

Investigations by the gambling watchdog revealed the iGaming operator violated regulations around social responsibility and anti-money laundering. This resulted in a fine of £780,000 against Buzz Group Ltd, which is the company behind Buzz Bingo. The regulator paired the fine with a formal warning over the same failures.

The period the operator is accused of breaching these regulations is October 2019 and December 2020. Helen Venn commented on the matter. The UKGC executive director said they expect all operators to adhere to the strict procedures and policies put in place to ensure a crime-free and safe gambling space.

Venn also put all operators on notice that they will continue carrying out frequent checks on them to ensure they comply with the regulations. The executive concluded by emphasizing the regulator will not shy away from taking action on the operators it finds violating the regulations.

More Details About the Failings by Buzz Bingo

On the anti-money laundering front, the UKGC said the operator violated the regulations by being over-dependent on open-source information. This is in relation to the source of funds checks. Investigations revealed the staff only relied on verbal assurances issued by clients in their interactions.

Things got worse for the operator after it failed to act on multiple alerts issued by the UKGC. This was on suspending a customer’s account following suspicious AML activities. One of the examples the regulator used was where a player raised nine financial red flags before the operator took action.

The UKGC also uncovered poor record-keeping by the operator regarding AML interactions between it and its customers.

When it comes to its shortcomings in social responsibility, the regulator said the bar set for the financial triggers was way too high. This means they were unable to spot customers at risk of falling into problem gambling.

One incident was when the Commission revealed a customer deposited £22,400 in just five days. The operator did not contact the user the entire time.

The UKGC also revealed the operator didn’t offer adequate interaction with the customers who gambled above normal over short periods. An example of this is a customer who lost £12,400 in just six days.

The regulator also revealed the operator interacted with this customer only by stating that they were fairing well in COVID-19. Whether players felt in control when gambling or chatting about their responsible gambling tools were areas the operator failed to address.

Buzz Bingo Responds to UKGC’s Fine

Dominic Mansour said in a statement that the fine was a result of failures in the operator’s legacy systems. A problem the Buzz Bingo COO of digital said has since been addressed. The COO further said the company remains committed to protecting its players by adhering to the highest standards.

The official went ahead to state the company is already taking steps to meet full compliance. They also added that the existing policies are now compliant with all applicable regulations.

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Nerijus Grenda

Published: 01 Jan 2022

| Updated: 13 Mar 2023

Nerijus Grenda is a prolific contributor to the GoodLuckMate site. With a deep understanding of the online casino industry, gained from his own experience as an avid player, he offers valuable insights on what sets the best casinos apart from the rest. As a writer, Nerijus shares his expertise through expert analysis and thoughtful commentary on various topics related to online gambling, including casino reviews, game guides and industry trends.

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