Blog Posted on 02/10/2018 | Author: Karen Macarthur

“Stop Unfair Withdrawal policies” British Gaming Sites Told

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority [CMA] carried out an investigation recently for studying the unfair practices prevalent in the online gambling industry. A guidance note has already been circulated amongst casino sites UK. Following the investigation, two reputed online gambling sites have removed the obstacles that prevent the players from withdrawing their money. This implies that the players of ProgressPlay and Jumpman Gaming will no longer have to wait for cashing out their funds in stages. They can now opt for single payments.

UK Bans Withdrawal Limits By Casino Sites UK

The UK has recently served an ultimatum to all casino sites UK to remove all the restrictions that have been set on withdrawals. This was done following a report by CMA. The Gambling Commission has acknowledged the findings by CMA and has announced that the gambling sites adhering to unfair practices would be punished severely. The investigation by CMA was carried out for over two years.

The findings bring into light the unfair terms and conditions laid down by certain gambling sites including the freezing of funds of players for remaining inactive for over a certain period of time. Several gambling sites confiscated funds if the players failed to submit ID proof within a specific timeframe. There are many sites that even had restrictions on the amount of money that could be withdrawn at a single time. Another finds hints that the operators impose money laundering controls selectively on the winning accounts in order to delay withdrawals.

Tough Action on Casino Sites UK Operators

CMA named two companies in its report that allowed players to withdraw their winnings only in the form of increments. The Progress Play and Jumpman Gaming recently announced that they have scrapped this policy and will adhere to comply with the regulations set by the Gambling Commission. The commission has tightened its regulation in the recent years. The casino sites UK found to breach the regulations with have to pay severe fines. Total fines imposed by the commission for the year 2017/2018 fiscal year amounted to $23 million.

Paul Hope, GC Executive Direction recently stated that gambling firms do not have the authority to place unreasonable restrictions on how and when their consumers can withdraw their winnings. New rules were announced in the month of July 2018 for enabling swift action for breaches of consumer law. This also covers breaching the regulations laid down by the CMA.

Regulators favouring players against unfair practices by casino sites UK.
The Gambling Commission has been quite active in the last two years and has been tackling breaches by online gambling sites. Social responsibility and unclear bonus terms became the hot topics for discussion for the commission. William Hill was asked to pay a fine of £6.2 million during February 2018 for failing to stop a player from depositing £653,000. It was revealed during an investigation that the gambling firm had not carried out the identity checks on the illicit deposits made. The gambling industry is under a strict scrutiny which seems to be positive news for the players.