{"id":254419,"date":"2023-01-18T18:38:19","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T00:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=254419"},"modified":"2023-01-19T05:34:44","modified_gmt":"2023-01-19T11:34:44","slug":"tonybet-slapped-with-442k-fine-for-unfair-withdrawal-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tonybet-slapped-with-442k-fine-for-unfair-withdrawal-conditions\/","title":{"rendered":"TonyBet Slapped with \u00a3442K Fine for \u2018Unfair\u2019 Withdrawal Conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"

European online sportsbook TonyBet has been fined \u00a3442,750 (US$547,000) by the UK Gambling Commission<\/a> (UKGC) for \u201cunfair\u201d conditions in its small print that could have been designed to frustrate player withdrawals.<\/p>\n

\"TonyBet\"
The TobyBet platform, pictured above, was focused on tying up withdrawals in red tape dressed as AML and social responsibility procedures, according to the UKGC. (Image: TonyBet)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The regulator said Wednesday it imposed the fine for the company\u2019s failure \u201cto have fair and transparent terms, and for failing to follow social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

The offending clauses in TonyBet\u2019s terms and conditions include one informing customers that the operator had the right to seek ID documents for \u201call withdrawals,\u201d even if these checks were not required during the deposit process.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the operator stipulated that winnings could be confiscated where customers had failed to provide the relevant documentation within 30 days. And it said customer accounts were considered dormant after six months inactivity, rather than the 12 months specified in UKGC regulations.<\/p>\n

Bending the Rules<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The implication is that TonyBet wanted to make it much harder for players to withdraw funds by tying the process up in red tape while making the deposit process as frictionless as possible.<\/p>\n

This could all be achieved under the pretext that the operator was simply complying with AML and social responsibility rules, which were in fact being bent in its favor.<\/p>\n

\n

There has long been anecdotal evidence of sports books hampering withdrawals with onerous verification processes, presumably in the hope that players would simply give up. But this is the first time that an operator in the UK has been penalized for seemingly admitting as much in its small print.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

TonyBet is based in Lithuania, but is licensed to operate in the UK via its TonyBet.co.uk platform.<\/p>\n

Not Tony\u2019s Fault<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The company was founded in 2009 by the famously brash Lithuanian-Australian poker player and gambler Antanas Guoga, commonly known as \u201cTony G.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guoga later represented Lithuania as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). He also started the PokerNews.com website. He sold TonyBet in 2016 and no longer has anything to do with the company.<\/p>\n

In addition to the fine, the UKGC said TonyBet will have to undergo a third-party audit to assess whether it is effectively complying with AML and social responsibility regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only does this case illustrate our drive to clamp down on anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures, but also highlights action we will take against gambling businesses who fail to be fair and open with customers,\u201d said Kay Roberts, Executive Director of Operations, said.<\/p>\n

A previous version of this article stated, incorrectly, that TonyBet is owned by the Betsson Group, whereas Betsson no longer has any ties whatsoever to TonyBet.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

European online sportsbook TonyBet has been fined \u00a3442,750 (US$547,000) by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) for \u201cunfair\u201d conditions in its small print that could have been designed to frustrate player withdrawals. The regulator said Wednesday it imposed the fine for the company\u2019s failure \u201cto have fair and transparent terms, and for failing to follow social […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":254420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[84599,84600],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTonyBet Slapped with \u00a3442K Fine for \u2018Unfair\u2019 Withdrawal Conditions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"TonyBet becomes the first company fined by UKGC for making withdrawals harder as part of its terms and conditions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tonybet-slapped-with-442k-fine-for-unfair-withdrawal-conditions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TonyBet Slapped with \u00a3442K Fine for \u2018Unfair\u2019 Withdrawal Conditions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"TonyBet becomes the first company fined by UKGC for making withdrawals harder as part of its terms and conditions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tonybet-slapped-with-442k-fine-for-unfair-withdrawal-conditions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-19T00:38:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-19T11:34:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/tonybet.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"636\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tonybet-slapped-with-442k-fine-for-unfair-withdrawal-conditions\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tonybet-slapped-with-442k-fine-for-unfair-withdrawal-conditions\/\",\"name\":\"TonyBet Slapped with \u00a3442K Fine for \u2018Unfair\u2019 Withdrawal Conditions\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tonybet-slapped-with-442k-fine-for-unfair-withdrawal-conditions\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tonybet-slapped-with-442k-fine-for-unfair-withdrawal-conditions\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/tonybet.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-19T00:38:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-19T11:34:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"TonyBet becomes the first company fined by UKGC for making withdrawals harder as part of its terms and conditions.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tonybet-slapped-with-442k-fine-for-unfair-withdrawal-conditions\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tonybet-slapped-with-442k-fine-for-unfair-withdrawal-conditions\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tonybet-slapped-with-442k-fine-for-unfair-withdrawal-conditions\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/tonybet.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/tonybet.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":636,\"caption\":\"The TobyBet platform, pictured above, was focused on tying up withdrawals in red tape dressed as AML and social responsibility procedures, according to the UKGC. 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