Following the public statement made by the UK Gambling Commission related to the investigation into PT Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of Playtech, the board of Playtech has undertaken a review of the group’s position.
The board takes full responsibility and apologises for the regulatory breaches identified by the Gambling Commission regarding anti-money laundering and social responsibility.
The regulatory breaches identified in PTES between 2015 and 2017 were not reflective of the high standards the Playtech group set itself at the time and not representative of the high standards the group delivers to its B2B partners today.
The board extends its deepest sympathies to the family of Chris Bruney following the tragic event of his death. Playtech interim chairman Claire Milne will be contacting the family to apologise personally for the regulatory breaches and to offer her condolences on behalf of the board and everyone at Playtech.
As reported by the Gambling Commission, £619,395 has already been donated in recognition of PTES’ regulatory breaches to charities that are dedicated to reducing gambling related harm as well as supporting education and treatment.
Following the review led by Claire Milne, who was previously chairman of the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission, the board has collectively taken the decision to increase the amount to £3.5m.
This matches the figure that the commission deemed appropriate had Playtech not taken action to close the PTES business, a decision which was made prior to the commencement of the Gambling Commission’s investigation as part of a strategic decision to focus the group’s efforts on B2B activities in the UK.
To further demonstrate Playtech’s commitment to raising industry standards and safer gambling, the board has decided to offer this further sum in support of the important work being undertaken by the Gambling Commission and other campaign groups in this area. Following the review, the board would also like to assure all stakeholders that decisive action was taken to address the breaches in PTES ahead of its closure in 2019.
This was done to ensure that the group took steps to ensure that similar regulatory breaches would not occur again and included key management and personal management licence holders leaving the business and PTES being brought under the group compliance function in a restructuring of processes and oversight.
