UKGC fines Lottoland

The local gambling commission revealed that Lottoland has been fined over failings in its communication services.

UK.- The UK Gambling Commission has announced that Lottoland, the Gibraltar online lottery operator, has been fined £150,000 because it failed to properly communicate its services and promotions.

As the authority said, Lottoland failed to make it clear that costumers were actually betting on the result of a lottery draw and not the lottery itself, therefore it failed to communicate what they were participating in. The UKGC said that lotteries are different to other gambling modalities as they usually direct some of the money to social causes, like scholarships and city funds. Gambling Commission programme director for enforcement and intelligence, Richard Watson, said: “In this case the operator used ambiguous terminology in their marketing and advertising, which was misleading. That is not acceptable and the £150,000 penalty package reflects the seriousness of Lottoland’s failures. We expect all operators will learn the lessons from this case and take action to ensure that their consumers are clear about what they are being offered.”

On the other hand, Nigel Birrell, CEO of Lottoland, said that the company was happy to work cooperatively with the UKGC on this matter. “Lottoland has further enhanced its procedures and controls to ensure all future marketing communications are fully compliant. We look forward to continuing to work in close partnership with the Gambling Commission as we continue to develop and pioneer the lotto betting category,” he added.