Blue Star Planet Limited, the Malta-based operator of the 10bet.co.uk website, has to pay a £620,000 fine to the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) for breaching anti-money laundering laws and a lack of social responsibility.
However, it will pay the required sum as part of the settlement with the Commission, as the regulator acknowledged the operators’ attempts to improve.
The money will be used for socially responsible purposes.
The investigation:
The operator’s violations were discovered after regulatory officials conducted a compliance assessment between June 22-25 , 2021.
The investigation found that between November 2019 and June 2021, the operator failed to meet many License Conditions and Codes of Practice.
As part of their license conditions and in accordance with their licensing objectives, UK iGaming operators must stop gambling from becoming a source of disorder or crime.
They must also protect children and other vulnerable members of society from experiencing gambling-related harm or being exploited by gambling and must ensure that their services are provided and offered in a safe, fair and transparent manner.
UKGC’s lawsuit:
The exact violations are failures in the way Blue Star Planet Limited applied the country’s anti-money laundering policies, controls and procedures.
However, parts of the company’s responsible gambling policies, controls, procedures and practices were also missing, as well as shortcomings in the implementation of these policies. The online operator also had shortcomings in its reporting arrangements.
In a statement released by the regulator, it says: “Blue Star Planet Limited breached paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of its 12.1.1 licence condition in regard to the prevention of terrorist financing and money laundering. The company was also found to have violated licence condition 12.1.2 which requires gambling companies based in foreign jurisdictions to make sure they are in line with the country’s Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations of 2017.
“Apart from that, Blue Star Planet was found to have breached paragraph 1a of the 8.1.1 licence condition that requires the holders of remote gambling permits to display information about their licence by the UKGC on every screen visible to their customers. The operator violated paragraphs 1b, 1c and 2 of Social Responsibility Code Provision 3.4.1, under which it is required to interact with its customers to minimize the risk of them facing gambling-related harm.”
About:
Headquartered in Malta, Blue Star Planet Limited was founded and officially launched in 2003. It is a widely-known subsidiary of Ocean Star Limited.
Its UK websit ufa800 e 10bet.co.uk. is enhanced to operate as a casino and offer large platforms to bettors for online casinos and sports wagering.
