The sanctions come after the gambling regulator uncovered social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures. The UK's gambling regulator, the Gambling Commission (UKGC), announced Bet365 was the latest operator to be fined for violating regulations. On Thursday, the gambling regulator confirmed that major betting and gaming companies are subject to 582,120 pounds ($737,234) of financial sanctions. The hefty fines come after the commission uncovered social responsibility failures and anti-money laundering violations (AMLs).
Gambling watchdogs confirmed sanctions had been imposed after a compliance evaluation dating back to March 2022 found failure. bet365 said it would have to pay the fines as part of a regulatory settlement. The UKGC also said proceeds from the fines would benefit socially responsible causes.
Providing more details, the UK gambling regulator said the 582,120-pound ($737,234) fine could be split into two fines to be paid by Bet365's bingo and casino product licensee, Hidden (UK Gaming) ENC, and Hidden (UK Sports) ENC, a company with a sports betting license. The Gambling Commission described the fine for Hidden (UK Sports) ENC as 343,035 pounds ($434,440), while the fine for Hidden (UK Gaming) ENC was 239,085 pounds ($302,800).
Kay Roberts, UKGC's executive director of operations, said the violations and failures found are not as serious as other recent failures by operators. "We expect high standards from operators in terms of keeping gambling safe, fair, and crime-free, and we will always take action to correct all failures," she added. Lastly, Roberts said repeated violations can extend from monetary penalties to regulatory action against operators. 슬롯사이트
Regulators share details of defects discovered
Explaining the AML deficiencies detected, the gambling watchdog said the company had inefficient customer and customer due diligence triggers. It was at risk of money laundering as a result. It also said the operator "did not undergo independent verification checks and relied heavily on the customer's annual self-verification of customer information, such as identification documents," while at the same time failing to conduct financial sanctions checks on new customers before the first deposit.
The commission, which focuses on social responsibility failures, said bet365's interactions with customers "are often not geared towards a particular customer journey or damage spectrum, so interactions are meaningless." In addition, it said the operator's early risk detection system had not demonstrated the impact of the interactions or the effectiveness of whether further action was needed.
