Esports

UKGC HITS CASUMO WITH £6M FINE FOR NUMEROUS FAILURES

Published

6 years ago

March 25, 2021

Online gambling operator Casumo has been hit with a £6M GBP fine, and ordered to undergo extensive auditing, by the UK Gambling Commission.

The penalty relates to an investigation, carried out between October 2019 and January 2020, which found a series of social responsibility and financial procedural failures. Those failings included not interacting with problem gamblers, failing to check the source of funds properly, and inadequate documentation checks.

Specific examples of customer interaction failures included:

One customer losing £1.1m over three years without being subject to a responsible gambling interaction.
A second customer losing £65,000 in one month without being subject to a responsible gambling interaction.
A third customer losing £76,000 over seven months without being subject to a responsible gambling interaction.
The operator not carrying out a responsible gambling interaction on a customer who lost £89,000 in a five hour period.
The operator not carrying out a responsible gambling interaction on a customer who lost £59,000 in a 90 minute period.

Specific examples of anti-money laundering failings included:

Customers were allowed to deposit significant sums of money without sufficient AML checks being conducted.
Source of Funds (SOF) checks were insufficient. Payslips and invoices presented as evidence of SOF were not corroborated with bank statements (or other evidence).
Bank statements produced were not assessed appropriately. Examples include incomplete bank statements which only showed credits into the customer’s account. The balance figures on a customer’s bank statement had been redacted.
Inadequate checks of documentation for authenticity.
No assessment or limit of how much a customer should be allowed to spend based on known income, wealth or any other risk factors.
Winnings from other gambling operators were accepted as SOF, without further investigation.
Not ensuring that its policies, procedures and controls were implemented effectively, kept under review, revised appropriately to ensure that they remain effective and take into account any applicable learning or guidelines published by the Commission from time to time.

Casumo says it acknowledges the Gambling Commission findings and “accepts its shortcomings in fully implementing and executing necessary measures.”

CEO, Shelly Suter-Hadad, who was hired last year due to her experience with compliance and operation control, said: “Since joining Casumo last year, my focus has been on putting in place a new senior leadership team and Personal Management Licence holders with extremely strong industry experience, and the knowledge and expertise to ensure we are a compliance-led business.

“In addition, recognising that key processes fell short in the past, I took immediate action to implement fundamental operational changes, so that Casumo is now a gaming group with compliance and responsible gambling at the heart of its business and culture.”

Richard Watson, Commission Executive Director, said: “This case was brought about through planned compliance activity and every operator out there should be aware that we will continue to take firm action against those who fail to raise standards.”

The operator will also be subject to extensive auditing by a firm of independent auditors, at its own expense. However, despite the penalty, Casumo has been allowed to keep its UK license, and the Gambling Commission has acknowledged there has been an improvement regarding policies and processes.

Staying with the Gambling Commission, last week the regulator hit In Touch Games with a £3.4M fine for multiple social responsibility, money laundering, and marketing failures.

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Esports

LEXUS SUPPORTS ESPORTS AWARDS FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR

Published

5 years ago

October 29, 2021

AYO News Staff

Luxury carmaker Lexus is returning to support the Esports Awards for a third year running

As Official Auto Partner of the awards, the company will be working with the Esports Awards on a number of activations that incorporate their vehicles. Lexus will also sponsor both the Esports Organisation of the Year and Streamer of the Year awards.

Lexus made its esports debut with the Esports Awards in 2019, when it provided several supercars from blockbuster movies, which took centre stage at the Esports Stadium Arlington. Last year, the carmaker collaborated on exclusive content as part of the highly successful virtual ceremony.

“It’s an honour to be able to welcome Lexus as a partner for the third year in a row. After supporting us through a successful virtual ceremony last year, it speaks volumes that Lexus has once again committed to going all-in and driving the esports ecosystem forward. Both of our brands focus on prestige and excellence, and I look forward to showcases our joint values as we return to a physical event in November,” said Michael Ashford, Managing Director, Esports Awards.

Esports

REKTGLOBAL BRINGS TOP GAMING TALENT TO INFINITY FESTIVAL 2021

Published

5 years ago

October 29, 2021

AYO News Staff

ReKTGlobal, the digital entertainment and esports organization, has been named one of the official presenters of gaming content at the 2021 Infinity Festival.

On 3 November, superstar gaming creators Ally Battaggia (a.k.a TheGeekEntry) and Gabby Murray will join Stove’s Kitchen and Paul Shaw in a panel exploring the content creator economy. In addition, ReKTGlobal CCO Kevin Knocke will share his unique expertise in a panel on esports.

Battaggia, who has a growing following across social media, took on streaming during lockdown, joining the fan-favorite NoPIxel GTA RP server. Since then, she’s become a mainstay participant, even crafting a NFT/TCG collection from her beloved GTA RP character. With 9.6M social media followers, Murray has built a fanbase as a multi-talented lifestyle and gaming content creator, with a Discord community that is expanding by the day.

Top gaming creator Stove’s Kitchen (whose real name is Steven Cho), part of the Team RAR (Rare and Ridiculous) internet group, has a devout fan following on his YouTube channel, where he posts gaming and challenge videos. Meanwhile, Shaw oversees Special Projects at TalentX Entertainment, a subsidiary of ReKTGlobal. The four will join forces for Making a Living as a Content Creator: Much More Than Gaming — a panel that explores what sets livestream content monetization and strategy apart from pre-produced content.

Also on 3 November, Knocke will take part in an esports panel with Darin Kwilinski, Lead Content Producer at IGN Entertainment, and Amanda Solomon, CEO at Tyrus Talent Management. The panel, Esports or Esports? Does It Matter? will break down misconceptions about esports to separate the hype from actual substance.

Knocke, who has been competitively gaming since he was a kid, has years of involvement with high profile companies and events in the esports business – specifically Blizzard Entertainment, IGN, SiriusXM, Sony, South by Southwest, E3, PAX, and Ubisoft — giving him a broad perspective on the industry. Before joining IGN, Kwilinski, a lifelong gamer, was a senior editor for esports at ESPN, establishing its vision and voice. Solomon is an executive with a well of expertise in the strategic sales and partnerships realm, specializing in esports, gaming, and talent.

Now in its exciting fourth year, the forward-focused Infinity Festival is the place where Hollywood meets Silicon Valley. The multi-day annual event, held in Los Angeles, brings together Hollywood’s finest storytelling talent with the innovative creators of cutting-edge technology. For 2021, Infinity Festival will blend in-person and virtual events for a unique hybrid experience.

The in-person portion will be held in several adjacent Hollywood locations with most events happening at Goya Studios and the Dream Hotel; the online component will be presented through the easy-to-use FNvirtual event platform. The festival will continue its theme of “Story Enabled by Technology” with an entirely new slate of innovative programming, including industry-leading speakers, panel discussions, an exhibition hall, innovation labs, and a fine art gallery, each with an emerging-tech focus.

For tickets and additional information, visit infinityfestival.com.

Esports

TEAM SINGULARITY TO LAUNCH FAN TOKENS VIA BLOCKSPORT

Published

5 years ago

October 29, 2021

AYO News Staff

Danish esports organisation Team Singularity has extended its partnership with Swiss fan engagement platform Blocksport.

The multi-year agreement will see the launch of the $SNG Fan Token, giving holders access to unique opportunities to influence team-related decisions, enter the fast-track at SNG Academy, access exclusive content, train with professional esports athletes and more.

$SNG Fan Tokens are expected to launch in December 2021 with a supply of 3M, and will be priced at €1 each in the initial sale.

Commenting on the news, Atle S. Stehouwer, CEO and Founder of Team Singularity, said: “I am happy that our partnership with Blocksport is officially extended and we can finally announce the next step in our collaboration.”

Vladimir Liulka, CEO and Co-Founder of Blocksport, added: “We are happy to extend our exclusive partnership with Team Singularity and launch $SNG Fan Token for their fans. Singularity has a global and awesome fan community. The Token opens up a new world – an environment in which they have the chance to be very close to their favorites players and team”.

Team Singularity currently fields rosters in CS:GO, Fortnite, Rocket League, League of Legends, FIFA, Apex Legends, Rainbow Six, VALORANT, Free Fire, Teamfight Tactics, Hearthstone, Quake, League of Legends Wild Rift, Call of Duty, Call of Duty Mobile, Call of Duty Warzone, PUBG, PUBG Mobile, DOTA 2, Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm, Battalion 1944, H1Z1, Tekken7, Rogue Company, Brawlhalla, and Clash Royale. In addition to Blocksport, the organisation has commercial partnerships with PWC, Pluck GG, Raven, SCUF, KontrolFreek, Randers FC, Esportal, Challengermode, MYESPORTSCARD, and MYFUTCARD.

Staying with esports and Blocksport.io, just yesterday we reported the platform had partnered with Jordanian sim motorsports organisation Desert Fox Racing.