Malta-based Videoslots hit with £650,000 fine by UK gambling regulator

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has slapped Malta-based Videoslots with a fine of nearly €740,000 (£650,000) following an investigation that uncovered serious shortcomings in how the operator managed money laundering risks and player protection.

Videoslots, which eventually rebranded to Immense Group, runs popular sites like videoslots.co.uk, mrvegas.com and megariches.com.

The company was also issued a formal warning and must now undergo an independent third-party audit to improve its procedures. The regulator’s review, covering late 2023 to early 2024, found that Videoslots relied too much on automated systems that failed to spot risky or harmful gambling behaviour.

For example, the operator set monthly deposit limits on customers, but the system didn’t include players’ initial deposits in its calculations. This flaw allowed some customers to lose thousands of pounds, such as one player who lost £5,000 despite a £3,000 monthly limit, and another who lost £7,500 in just 18 days despite a £2,000 limit.

The UKGC also highlighted cases where customers showed clear signs of gambling harm but weren’t contacted by Videoslots to offer help or support.

On the money laundering front, the investigation found gaps in Videoslots’ record-keeping and an over-reliance on automated checks that didn’t trigger when needed.

One customer deposited over £75,000 using prepaid digital vouchers and transferred gambling winnings to multiple bank accounts, sometimes accessing their account from outside the UK. Despite these high-risk signals, Videoslots’ systems failed to prompt timely source-of-funds checks or further investigation.

The regulator warned that prepaid digital vouchers and other open-loop payment methods are especially risky because they can be purchased anonymously or via crypto, making it harder to trace the money.

Videoslots responds

Videoslots’ CEO Alexander Stevendahl disagreed with some parts of the UKGC’s findings.

He explained that the company worked closely with the regulator and implemented all requested improvements. He also clarified that no customer exceeded their own deposit limits, as Videoslots had internal thresholds to flag accounts before those limits were reached.

Mr Stevendahl called for clearer communication between operators and regulators to avoid misunderstandings and help create a safer and more sustainable industry.

This fine is not Videoslots’ first: earlier in 2025, the Swedish regulator also fined the company over €1 million ($1.3 million) over similar concerns.

This case highlights ongoing challenges in the online gambling industry around protecting players and preventing money laundering, especially with new payment methods emerging. It shows the importance of robust monitoring systems and human oversight to keep gambling safe and fair.