Platinum Gaming Limited, the operator of common UK playing web sites like unibet.co.uk and uk.bingo.com, has been hit with a £10 million penalty by the UK Gambling Commission. This advantageous comes after a radical investigation uncovered a collection of significant failings in each the corporate’s anti-money laundering (AML) controls and its social duty procedures. The Commission’s findings have highlighted important shortcomings within the firm’s capability to correctly monitor and defend its prospects, significantly these vulnerable to playing hurt.
Failings in Customer Protection Systems
Among essentially the most regarding points recognized by the Gambling Commission have been the corporate’s failures to acknowledge and act on at-risk gamers. One buyer, who registered on the platform, misplaced £5,000 inside simply 24 hours and went on to lose over £16,000 in lower than three months. Despite these important losses, Platinum Gaming’s buyer interplay system didn’t flag the person as being vulnerable to hurt. In one other case, a participant who misplaced greater than £31,000 over a nine-month interval, breached their month-to-month loss restrict on a number of events, and demonstrated indicators of high-velocity playing, was not contacted or intervened with by the corporate. These instances exemplify the failure of the operator to behave on clear markers of playing hurt.
The firm additionally failed to have interaction with a buyer who misplaced £73,000 over a 23-day interval, with a web lack of £4,100, additional highlighting systemic issues with buyer monitoring and assist. Despite these critical points, the corporate didn’t take acceptable motion to stop continued playing from these people.
Alongside these social duty points, the investigation additionally uncovered plenty of failings in Platinum Gaming’s anti-money laundering practices. One main problem was the corporate’s lack of consideration for prospects who had beforehand had their accounts blocked as a consequence of issues over cash laundering or terrorist financing. Despite having accounts flagged for such points, some prospects have been nonetheless in a position to open new accounts and proceed playing.
The firm’s AML threat evaluation was discovered to be insufficient, failing to deal with high-risk components comparable to giant transactions, suspicious occupations, or excessive ranges of playing losses. Moreover, Platinum Gaming’s AML coverage lacked readability on how due diligence measures must be utilized and failed to obviously outline the thresholds for enhanced buyer due diligence.
Repeated Failures and Previous Penalties
This shouldn’t be the primary time Platinum Gaming has confronted regulatory motion. In 2023, the corporate was fined £2.9 million for comparable failings in its AML and counter-terrorist financing practices. The undeniable fact that these points haven’t been adequately addressed, regardless of earlier enforcement motion, led to additional issues concerning the firm’s dedication to compliance.
John Pierce, the Gambling Commission’s Director of Enforcement, expressed disappointment with the operator’s continued failures, stating in a press release, “While industry-wide progress has been made in reducing unchecked high spending, the failings at Platinum Gaming are particularly disappointing. The case revealed serious shortcomings in customer interaction systems, including failures to identify and act on clear markers of harm.”
In addition to the £10 million monetary penalty, Platinum Gaming has been ordered to endure an unbiased audit and inner investigation. The firm can also be required to offer common updates to the Gambling Commission on the progress of those measures. This audit is meant to drive significant change inside the firm, reinforce accountability, and embed a tradition of compliance throughout the group.
The Gambling Commission emphasised that these actions are geared toward stopping comparable failures sooner or later and making certain that senior leaders inside the firm take full possession of compliance outcomes. “Senior leaders must take ownership of compliance outcomes and ensure lessons are embedded across the organization, supported by structured reporting and board-level oversight,” Pierce added.
