Rank Owned Daub Alderney Loses Appeal Against Fine

Daub Alderney a company owned by the UK gaming operator Rank Group since 2019 has lost its appeal to a fine imposed by the UK Gambling Commission.

The company which also runs aspers.com, kittybingo.com, luckypantsbingo.com, luckyvip.com, magicalvegas.com, regalwins.com and spinandwin.com – had also received formal warnings for the failures which occurred between January 2019 and March 2020.

In its notice on the site the UK regulator posted:

A court has rejected an operator’s appeal against a Gambling Commission penalty.

In September 2021 the Commission fined Daub Alderney £5.85m for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures.

Daub Alderney appealed to the First-Tier Tribunal on the grounds that the financial penalty was excessive, unfair and disproportionate.

But following a hearing Judge Findlay dismissed the appeal and stated the financial penalty was a “fair and reasonable regulatory response”.

She said: “I find that there were serious breaches which were similar to the breaches for which a substantial financial penalty was imposed in 2018 and there are no new facts which persuade me that the decision was wrong. I find that the (Commission Regulatory) Panel did not err in law and complied with its statutory obligations.”

Sarah Gardner, Commission Deputy CEO, said: “We welcome the First-Tier Tribunal’s decision to dismiss this appeal.

“We do not take the decision to fine gambling companies lightly but we will always take firm, decisive action against operators who fail to follow rules aimed at making gambling safe and free from crime.”