Big wrist slap for Taichi Tech Ltd over dodgy T&Cs
Well though they don't mess about, do they, when it comes down to it? The Gambling Commission (UKGC) that is. They just slapped a £170k fine on Taichi Tech Limited (trading as Fafabet) for some very dodgy, if not to say quite naive, terms and conditions.
Dodgy T&Cs
Seriously, if your T&Cs include the following: "Fafabet have the right at their own discretion to close accounts or forfeit winnings" you're either not very smart, or simply looking for trouble. And I'm not talking about the grammatical error. ('Fafabet' in this context is a single entity so it should have read 'has' not 'have'.)
With T&Cs like that a business is essentially saying: "We don't care about your rights, we don't respect you, it's our platform and we will do whatever we like." Not in 2025 you don't.
"The Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) is the general consumer protection legislation, and it is explicitly referenced within the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) that gambling companies must follow. The LCCP requires licensees to ensure that their terms and practices are fair, clear, and do not breach consumer protection law." – UKGC
Gambling Commission censure
Well of course the Gambling Commission got wind of what Fafabet / Taichi Tech Limited were telling their players via their terms and conditions. And rightly took them to task and fined them £170,000.
“We expect all operators – regardless of their size or customer base – to comply with consumer protection legislation and ensure their terms and conditions meet regulatory standards. Licensed operators must ensure their terms are clear, fair, and transparent, so customers fully understand what to expect.” – John Pierce, Director of Enforcement and Intelligence at the UKGC.
Spot-on, John.
But that's not all...
Of course, when you get done for something, the authorities will start sniffing around for other potential misdemeanours. And that's what has happened to Taichi Tech Limited. The UKGC also found failures relating to anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility breaches:
- Some customers being able to gamble large sums in a short period of time, despite the company holding only limited customer information
- in some cases, players exhibited potential markers of harm – such as high spending in short periods – with insufficient customer interaction from the company
- No further follow-up or intervention by the company after safer gambling emails were sent but not acknowledged by the player and concerning behaviour continued
Additionally the UKGC identified deficiencies in the operator’s social responsibility and AML controls, including failing to properly manage risk and implement adequate consumer protection controls.
Taichi Tech Limited accepted that it fell short of expected standards and have since taken measures to correct things. From here, Taichi Tech Limited has to commission an independent third-party audit to monitor ongoing regulatory compliance.
Well done UKGC
No one wants to be hoodwinked or caught out by confusing or dodgy terms & conditions. Just imagine if Fafabet was your first time experience of online gambling?
We're sometimes a bit critical of the UKGC on this site, but in this instance it's a case of job well done. They have acted clearly and decisively in sorting this out. And hopefully it will have made a few operators sit up and take notice.