In 2022, gambling regulators in various countries including the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Sweden, and the Netherlands issued a record number of financial penalties, warnings, and even gambling license suspensions to numerous online and land-based casino and gambling operators.
According to a report by USA-Casino.com, global gambling industry financial penalties were issued 38 times in 2022, totaling approximately $264,578,390 which is a huge increase of 443% compared to the previous year’s total of $48,642,992.
Some of the brands that were affected by regulatory action include Betr, Betway, DraftKings, BetMGM, Unibet, LeoVegas, 888, and PointsBet.
Key issues identified by regulators included:
- Accepting wagers before licensed to do so.
- Contacting & offering promotions to self-excluding gamblers.
- Marketing to young adults.
- Spamming.
- Breaking advertising rules / inducement infractions.
- Anti money-laundering failings.
- Social responsibility failing.
- Accepting Prohibited Wagers.
- Offering bonuses in breach of local gaming laws.
- Failure to prevent Overspending & placing limits on accounts.
- Failing in identifying customers at risk of gambling related harm.
- Not having appropriate Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures.
The largest gambling industry penalties in 2022 were issued to the Star Entertainment Group, which was fined AU$100,000,000 by Australian regulators for license breaches including allowing money laundering at its Sydney casino, and Entain, which was fined US$21,000,000 by the UKGC, the largest fine in UKGC history, due to anti-money laundering irregularities.
The proliferation of online gambling is expected to increase in 2023 as more and more American states make moves to legalize various forms of gambling including online casinos. Industry experts predict more gambling industry regulation and more casino and gambling industry fines in 2023.
Reporter & gambling industry analyst covering the land-based and online casino industry in the United States.
