On September 1, 2023, the Gambling Commission suspended the licences of In Touch Games Ltd. due to suspected violations of the Gambling Act 2005 and various licence conditions. These conditions relate to money laundering, fair and transparent practices, and reporting critical events.
As a result of the suspension, In Touch Games Ltd. is prohibited from accepting customer deposits or allowing users to play games on their platform. However, customers can still withdraw any remaining funds from their accounts. It is worth noting that this is not the first time the company has faced regulatory issues, having been fined a total of £11.7m (€13.6m) since 2019.
In addition, the company’s membership with the Betting and Gaming Council has been temporarily suspended due to the suspension of its licences. Although In Touch Games Ltd. voluntarily surrendered its Gambling Commission operating licence on September 5, 2023, the Commission retains the authority to continue investigating the company and its personal management licence holders.
In Touch Games Limited, an online gambling business, has been penalized three times by the Gambling Commission for failing to meet regulatory requirements. The fines and reasons are as follows:
In 2019, the company paid a £2.2m (€2.56m) settlement for failures in social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) practices. This included not conducting effective affordability checks, neglecting to intervene with customers showing signs of problem gambling, and failing to adequately verify the source of funds.
In 2021, the company received a £3.4m (€3.96m) fine and a warning for failures in social responsibility, AML, and marketing. This involved not verifying customers’ identities, allowing self-excluded customers to gamble, and sending marketing communications to customers who had opted out.
In 2023, the company was fined £6.1m (€7.1m) for failures in social responsibility and AML measures. This included not engaging with customers displaying concerning play patterns, neglecting to verify customers’ income and expenses, and lacking proper policies, procedures, and controls to address the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing.
These fines highlight the need for In Touch Games Limited to improve its practices to ensure compliance and protect customers in its operation of websites such as bonusboss.co.uk, cashmo.co.uk, casino.mfortune.co.uk, and others.