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GVC Holdings has become the latest UK-licensed gambling operator to be slapped a hefty financial penalty by the UK Gambling Commission for misleading advertising across its websites. A subsidiary of the Isle of Man-based company was imposed a £350,000 fine for repeated breaches of UK advertising codes.
ElectraWorks Limited, which is licensed by the Gambling Commission to provide gambling services through multiple brands including bwin, was also issued a warning for its failure to ensure that a marketing management officer had a personal management license (PML).
The announcement about GVC’s fine comes at a time when the company is working on closing a £4-billion deal for the acquisition of UK bookmaker Ladbrokes Coral. In addition, the Isle of Man-based company has become the latest of several gambling operators to have been investigated and subsequently fined by the gambling regulator for repeated violations of UK’s established codes and practices for the promotion of gambling services.
GVC’s Violations amid a Gambling Crackdown
The UK Gambling Commission informed GVC’s subsidiary last fall that it would conduct a review of its license spurred by findings about repeated advertising codes violations. Information about the first of a series of breaches emerged in August 2016, when UK’s Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint against the gaming and betting company regarding a free bonus ad on bwin’s .com website.
The ad was found to have breached provisions in the Committee of Advertising Practice and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice codes in relation to how free bets, bonuses and other offers of this kind should be represented.
A week after information about the first breach had emerged, the Gambling Commission found another ad on bwin’s website that breached codes. The ad was removed in due time. Six similar violations were discovered by the regulator in April 2017. Several more breaches occurred on websites run by ElectraWorks in June and August.
In addition, the gambling company failed to ensure that an individual who was at the helm of its marketing and advertising department had the necessary personal management license. Under the Commission’s license requirements, each of its licensees must ensure that individuals occupying management offices have the requisite licenses.
The announcement about GVC’s fine comes just as when the UK Committees of Advertising Practice introduced “tougher standards” on gambling advertising, specifically on ads that could be found particularly appealing to people with problem gambling behavior. The advertising watchdog is also looking to crack down on free bets and bonuses as one of the most popular means among operators to attract and retain gambling customers.
UK-licensed operators will have to avoid ads that create a “sense of urgency” among customers and approaches that offer irresponsible perception of the risk a customer is taking or of the fact that they have more control than they actually do.
The post UK Gambling Commission Fines GVC Holdings for Misleading Free Bets Ads appeared first on Casino News Daily.
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