UK Gambling Commission Fines Gala Interactive £2.3 million

This story was published more than 6 years ago.

This week Gala Interactive was informed that it has been fined a huge £2.3 million sum from the UK Gambling Commission for breaching rules meant to protect customers.

The fine was the result of an investigation, which took place after two punters lost £1.3 million after displaying problem betting behavior. The regulator concluded that the company didn't interact effectively with the two, and that the group also didn't have written policies in place that could have prevented the issue from getting to be so high. The first punter stole from his employer to fund his addiction, while the second stole property. Both have since been jailed.

Gala admitted its fault in the matter, and will pay the fine in a split way. The company will pay £1 million into a research fund that looks into gambling addiction. The rest will be paid to

Speaking about the fine UKGC CEO Sarah Harrison said, "We will continue to take robust action where we see operator failures that harm consumers and the wider public. It is the responsibility of all operators - particularly key decision makers in those companies - to ensure they are protecting their customers and step in when there is behaviour that might indicate problem gambling."

"This did not happen in this case and the £2.3m penalty package should serve as a warning to other operators."

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About the author

Dustin Jermalowicz // News Editor
Dustin Jermalowicz
Dustin has a long-standing passion for gambling. He has been writing professionally on the subject and breaking industry news for Casino Listings since 2011. His favorite casino games include Blackjack, Poker, and Hi/Lo. A proud native of Detroit, Dustin currently lives in Michigan.
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krcoolsongss
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8 November 2017 - 8:16am
#1

Wow, this is a strong measure by UKGC. They really care for the gamblers too.
It is pity for the players who lost a lot of money there, though.

idPharidodot
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8 November 2017 - 11:49am
#2

very unfortunate for the problems experienced by gala casino, but it is still better because there is a very strong wall behind them, UKGC is quite firm in taking the attitude to all the problems experienced by the players in all sites that are in the shade of UKGC, at least a few players have confidence when a casino has strong regulation like UKGC, so this is an appeal for all, for the casino as well as for all players, to play on highly trusted sites, have strong, reliable regulation, especially for indonesian players who often get into trouble with casino abroad,

Lambino

zaLambino
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8 November 2017 - 12:01pm
#3

Wow now that a hectic amount to play in a casino , I have heard of amounts like that being blown in land based casinos but would never thought of that kind of money being spent in an online casino, Gala deserves the fine in my opinion because they have tracking that far surpasses land based casinos and I am sure they knew something was fishy with operation so in my view they should have been fined the full amount the players lost with additional penalties

sharpe

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9 November 2017 - 5:29pm
#4

So in the end they're fined 1mill...if my mat is right 😜

Deserved penalty indeed for the casino, from another angle though they've been fined for not allowing couple of thief’s to keep what they've stolen...so a weird one...