Compliance Updates
UKGC Imposes £780,000 Fine on Buzz Group
Buzz Group, which operates buzzbingo.com, has been fined £780,000 by the UK Gambling Commission for failures relating to social responsibility and anti-money laundering procedures.
Buzz Group also received a formal warning for the failures which occurred between October 2019 and December 2020.
Social responsibility failures included: financial triggers not sufficiently identifying at-risk players as they were set too high. One customer was able to deposit £22,400 in five days without the operator conducting a meaningful interaction within that period.
Systems not sufficiently identifying at-risk players. Two customers won large amounts of money gambling, yet the operator failed to consider the increased risk of gambling harm to those customers despite the customers displaying high levels of spend.
Not carrying out effective customer interactions with customers who gambled aggressively over short periods of time. One customer deposited and lost £12,400 during a six-day period but the operator’s only record of a customer interaction simply stated customer was ‘coping well in COVID-19’once a decision to interact with a customer had been made staff did not always sufficiently follow the requirement of the operator’s own customer interaction procedure to check the customer was comfortable with their gambling levels, if they felt in control, and then discuss responsible gambling tools and support resources.
Anti-money laundering failures included: triggers prompting source of funds (SOF) checks being over reliant on open source or anecdotal information such as staff relying heavily on assurances provided verbally by customers during interactions.
In one instance the operator placed reliance on a large customer win as the SOF for the customer’s future gambling spend without considering that it might not be recycled winnings and that it may be the proceeds of crime
Multiple alerts needed to be activated before a customer AML interaction took place. One customer was able to hit nine financial alerts before their account was suspended pending an AML interaction. The operator keeping insufficient records of AML interactions with customers and it was often not clear what had been discussed during those interactions.
The case against Buzz Group Ltd, like other recent enforcement action, was the result of planned compliance activity.
Helen Venn, Commission Executive Director, said: “As a regulator we expect all operators to effectively implement policies and procedures which make gambling safe and crime-free. Every single gambling business should be aware that we do check that these are in place and are being adhered to. If they are not, we will take action.”
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Compliance Updates
SOFTSWISS Compliance Expert Shares Knowledge on AML in iGaming for Sumsub Academy
SOFTSWISS, a global tech provider with over 15 years of iGaming expertise, announces that its Head of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) team, Eleni Panagiotopoulou, has been invited to deliver a lecture for AML Fundamentals, the newly launched training programme by Sumsub Academy. The course, which goes live on 15 September 2025, offers free online access to compliance professionals worldwide.
AML has become one of the most pressing topics for a wide range of highly regulated sectors. Regulators are intensifying oversight, and companies face increasing responsibilities to safeguard their operations and the wider financial system. Against this backdrop, Eleni’s participation underscores both SOFTSWISS’s expertise in compliance and its commitment to supporting the iGaming industry.
Drawing on her experience across operators, regulators, and compliance leadership roles, Eleni participates in the iGaming-focused module of the six-part course. Her sessions explore how money laundering risks manifest in casinos, betting platforms, lotteries, and online gaming environments, and how operators can strengthen their frameworks to meet evolving regulatory expectations.
Speaking ahead of the course launch, Eleni Panagiotopoulou said: “iGaming is one of the fastest-paced and high-risk sectors when it comes to financial crime. In countries where gaming is a cornerstone of the economy, AML compliance isn’t just a regulatory requirement; it’s a business imperative. Through this course, I look forward to sharing practical, industry-specific insights that compliance teams can put into action straight away.”
Natalie Buraimoh, Head of AML Product at Sumsub, added: “We’re pleased to be working with leading partners like SOFTSWISS to bring additional iGaming expertise into this course, helping professionals address some of the sector’s most complex AML challenges. After ten years of helping businesses navigate compliance, we know how quickly AML requirements evolve, and our aim is to deliver accessible training that professionals at every level can apply in their daily work.”
The Sumsub Academy AML Fundamentals course brings together leading experts from across the financial crime prevention space, including specialists in fintech, payments, and crypto. Participants who complete the programme will receive a shareable AML certificate.
For SOFTSWISS, this appointment highlights the company’s growing influence in global compliance conversations, while reinforcing its deep roots in Malta’s iGaming ecosystem.
About SOFTSWISS
SOFTSWISS is an international technology company with over 15 years of experience in developing innovative solutions for the iGaming industry. SOFTSWISS provides comprehensive software for managing iGaming projects. The company’s product portfolio includes the Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with over 35,000 casino games, Affilka Affiliate Platform, the Sportsbook Platform, and the Jackpot Aggregator. The expert team, based in Malta, Poland, and Georgia, counts over 2,000 employees.
The post SOFTSWISS Compliance Expert Shares Knowledge on AML in iGaming for Sumsub Academy appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Hard Rock Bet has launched a responsible gaming website offering educational content, support resources, and interactive tools.
The Seminole Hard Rock Digital operator said its portal contains information on setting deposit, wager, and session limits.
Users can also find information on using time-out features and self-exclusion, with links to national and state-level resources also included.
“We consider ourselves to be our players’ partner in responsible gaming, and this new site gives our community the guidance, tools and support needed for a confident and enjoyable gaming experience,” said Danny Crook, Hard Rock Digital’s senior vice president of operations.
The responsible gaming website is part of Hard Rock Bet’s role in Responsible Gaming Education Month in the US, organised by the American Gaming Association.
The post Hard Rock Bet Launches New Responsible Gaming Website appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
AGA
Four in Five U.S. Voters Say Sports Events Contracts Should Be Regulated Like Other Online Sportsbooks
The American Gaming Association (AGA) released new research showing strong sentiment that sports events contracts offered through prediction markets—online platforms where users wager on the outcomes of future events—should be regulated in the same way as other forms of legal, state-regulated sports betting. The study also shows that the public overwhelmingly view them as a form of gambling that requires oversight.
Key Findings:
- Americans overwhelmingly recognize sports events contracts as gambling, not financial instruments. 85% say sports events contracts are most like gambling, while only 6% believe they are most like a financial instrument.
- Most Americans want sports events contracts regulated like other forms of sports betting. 80% say that sports event contracts should be regulated like other online sports betting and 65% believe these bets should be overseen by state and tribal gaming regulators, not the federal Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
- Adults agree that sports events contracts should only be offered by state-licensed sportsbooks. 84% of Americans, and 69% of sports bettors, say that sports events contracts should only be available in state-licensed sportsbooks in the states where they are offered. 69% of Americans believe each state should have a say on whether sports events contracts can be offered in their state.
- Americans recognize prediction platforms offering sports event contracts are skirting the law. 70% say prediction platforms offering sports event contracts are exploiting loopholes to act as unlicensed sportsbooks.
“This research has made it clear: Americans know a sports bet when they see one—and they expect prediction markets offering sports event contracts to be held to the same rules and consumer safeguards as every other state-regulated sportsbook,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. “This underscores the need for the CFTC to enforce and uphold its own regulations that prohibit gaming contracts, and for Congress to use its oversight power to ensure prediction markets are not used as a backdoor for gaming.”
With sports betting currently operational in 38 states and Washington, D.C., AGA’s research emphasizes the need for consistent oversight of emerging gaming products to maintain consumer trust and uphold responsible gaming standards.
Methodology
YouGov, on behalf of the AGA, conducted an online survey from August 1-8, among a nationally representative sample of 2,025 registered voters. The margin of error is +/- 2 percent and greater among subgroups.
The post Four in Five U.S. Voters Say Sports Events Contracts Should Be Regulated Like Other Online Sportsbooks appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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