Another betting company has been fined after misleading consumers and letting down vulnerable gamblers.
LeoVegas becomes the latest company to be hit with a fine in the past nine months after 888 UK Limited, Sky Bet and William Hill.
Issuing the £600,000 penalty, the Gambling Commission called on other gambling companies to “learn the lessons from our investigations”.
Failure
LeoVegas was found to be responsible for 41 misleading adverts, and it also failed to return money to over 11,000 customers who decided to ‘self-exclude’ and close their account.
It also sent marketing material to nearly 2,000 people who had previously self-excluded.
In its report, the Commission said the company had failed to learn from other organisations.
LeoVegas said it had “high ambitions for compliance with laws and regulations”.
Money laundering
In August last year, 888 UK Limited was handed a record fine of nearly £8 million after it failed to block users who wanted to stop gambling.
The business allowed thousands of customers who had chosen to self-exclude on one platform to continue betting on another platform.
February saw William Hill being fined over £6 million for failing to spot money laundering and for breaching social responsibility rules.
And Sky Bet was reprimanded in March after it failed to help tens of thousands of people who wanted to stop gambling.
Destroy
Last year, gambling addicts spoke about the toll of online betting – with one person saying they had lost £12,000 in one night playing poker.
Another said his wages went towards online gambling “every month”, adding: “It was destroying my life and the people I cared about most around me.”