Gambling with Lives Wants the UKGC to Stop Reckless Gambling Firms

A month ago, Gamesys, a leading international online gaming operator, was fined in the United Kingdom over AML and social responsibility violations. Now, Gambling with Lives, a charity set up by families bereaved by gambling, seeks to convince the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) to revoke the licenses of companies that commit serious violations.

Gambling with Lives launched a petition, asking the UKGC to be less benevolent to operators that violate its rules. Dubbed “Stop reckless gambling firms,” the petition urges stricter enforcement of the UK’s social responsibility rules since fines are easily paid by huge gambling companies.

Gambling with Lives argues that unregulated gambling can sometimes lead to suicides. As a result, fines that multibillion companies can easily pay are not a proportional punishment, the organization said. Citing recent statistics, the charity pointed out that a whopping 496 people in Britain take their lives because of gambling addiction every year.

Big Companies Will Never Change Unless Forced to

According to Gambling with Lives, big gambling operators earn billions of pounds a year, meaning that even fines in the realm of millions are easily payable. The charity said that, for many of these companies, fines are nothing more than a cost of business.

Because of this, multi-billion-pound gambling companies do not feel the need to change, the charity pointed out. Gambling with Lives cited Gamesys’ recent fine as an example, noting that the operator had promoted new games and promotions to a customer who had just lost £10,000.

These violations earned Gamesys a £6 million fine. However, its parent company, Bally’s, earns almost £2 billion a year.

Because of that, Gambling with Lives believes that operators should risk something more than a slap on the wrist.

The big gambling firms will never change their ways unless forced to. If they knew they could be shut down, they would be forced to behave better.

Gambling with Lives statement

Now, Gambling with Lives is seeking public support as it hopes to convince the UKGC to revoke the licenses of serious violators and help prevent gambling-related deaths in Britain.

The petition was launched yesterday and already has 1,117 of its target 2,000 signatures.