One of the most prominent online casino gaming regulatory bodies, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission has been extremely busy these days especially when it comes to penalizing online gambling and betting operators in the last couple of months. Just several days ago, several news outlets reported that the United Kingdom Gambling Commission has taken actions against two more gambling operators.

According to the iGaming regulator’s latest reports, it has decided to suspend the iGaming licenses of two iGaming operators. As reported, the two online gambling operators will have their United Kingdom Gambling Commission-issued licenses suspended due to failing to entirely integrated the United Kingdom’s self-exclusion scheme named GAMSTOP into their online gaming platforms.

Sportito and Dynamic Lost Their UKGC Licenses

The two online gambling operators which have lost their United Kingdom Gambling Commission-issued licenses are Sportito and Dynamic. As revealed, the two operators who faced the UKGC’ wrath failed to entirely participate in self-exclusion schemes which are mandatory for operators active in the United Kingdom iGaming market.

Back in January of this year, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission informed all online gambling and betting operators that hold its licenses that they have to participate in its self-exclusion GAMSTOP scheme. This is basically a free service that provides players with the valuable opportunity to exclude themselves from online betting and gambling activities with online bookies and online casinos which are licensed in the United Kingdom for a specific time period.

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission regulated and licensed operates were ordered to integrated this self-exclusion GAMSTOP scheme by the 31^st of March which was several days who. Nonetheless, Sportito and Dynamic failed to include the GAMSTOP scheme with their online operations across their gaming platforms. Consequently, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission revealed a couple of days ago that it has decided to suspend the operators’ licenses.

The regulator’s officials also said that they have also instigated reviews into the two operators’ activities according to the Gambling Act’s Section 116 from 2005. The United Kingdom Gambling Commission believes that Sportito and Dynamic had breached certain conditions of their UKGC licenses, so they are not suitable to resume their activities in the United Kingdom iGaming market.

Sportito’s License Suspension Lifted

After Sportito faced suspension of its United Kingdom Gambling Commission-issued license, the operator has implemented the United Kingdom’s GAMSTOP self-exclusion tool, so the UK-based iGaming regulator decided to lift the operator’s license suspension. Nonetheless, the regulator plans to review the operator’s activities in the following months.

When it comes to Dynamic and its license suspension, it is set to remain fully in place until the United Kingdom Gambling Commission confirms that the online gambling operator has successfully implemented the GAMSTOP self-exclusion tool and that all of its activities are one hundred percent compliant with the UK’s Gambling Act from 2005.

Commenting on the news about the license suspensions for the two gambling operators, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission’s Chief Executive Mr. McArthur said that the regulator has made it very clear to all online betting and gambling operators that they are always ready to use their powers in order to protect players and all consumers.

He also added that one of those ways to protect players is the regulator’s mandatory self-exclusion tool which is there in place to protect the most vulnerable consumers. For this reason, the regulator made the integration of this tool compulsory for every single operator active in the United Kingdom.

When online casinos first started emerging almost three decades ago, there was no means of knowing if online casino operators were legitimate or not. Regardless of location, everybody could’ve accessed these sites in order to play. It turned out that, not so rarely, casino sites offered casino content without giving players a fair chance of winning, and in some cases, made sure that there was no chance of winning at all.

Fortunately, things have changed, and today, there are all sort of rules which online casinos need to follow so they can meet requirements, made by their regulatory body. The first country to feel the need that such regulations were necessary was the UK. With its primary goal to protect players, the country defined the entire online gambling industry under the Gambling Act 2005, and now, every online casino operator under UK jurisdiction needs to have a license, granted by the UK Gambling Commission.

What Licensing Means for the Players

As a part of the UK Government, UKGC is in charge of supervision of the entire gambling industry in the UK. For gambling activities to continue in a fair and open environment, it’s necessary for all the UK online casinos to be approved by the UKGC. As mentioned before, to do that, online casinos need to follow certain rules as well as pass thorough background checks. The process takes time as well as money. In addition, after a license is acquired, all online casino profits come attached with a 15% tax rate (a part of it is being distributed to programs against gambling addiction). On the other hand, players are not required to pay anything on their winnings while enjoying online casino services, provided UKGC-licensed online casino.

Despite pretty clear instructions on how to conduct gambling activities, thanks to technology advancement, it has become easier for online casinos to cheat on players. In such cases, the UKGC dispute resolution system acts as an objective third party with no interest in the matter but to protect players.

Also, with their most important goal to shield players from potential irregularities, UKGC continually checks regulations, bringing in new ones when it deems necessary. Their latest addition relates to minors, and very soon, new regulations should be expected concerning their welfare.

Additional Implications

For the UK online casinos, it is strictly forbidden to allow those under the age of 18 to take part in gambling. Thanks to the new regulations which concern this particular group, upon registration and before any deposits, the UK online casinos in ownership of license will have to demand identification as well as positive age verification. With verification enabled beforehand, withdrawals will be much quicker, and without additional delays.

Within their regulatory duties, UKGC has the power to put an end to money laundering and in the process, put a stop to serious crimes such as terrorism or any other form of criminal activities by cutting off their funding. Also, in addition to protecting players, a license also provides much-needed credibility to the gaming industry.