Bet365 Slapped with Enormous Fine for AML Failings!

Author:

Alexie Marone

|Published: April 4th, 2024

Bet365 faces a hefty penalty of £582,120 from the Gambling Commission due to lapses in anti-money laundering and social responsibility practices within its online operations.

The operator's two entities, Hillside (UK Gaming) ENC and Hillside (UK Sports) ENC, responsible for various betting and gaming products, will each pay £343,035 and £239,085, respectively, as part of the regulatory settlement with the Gambling Commission.

These funds will be directed toward socially responsible causes.

During a compliance assessment in March 2022, the Gambling Commission uncovered several social responsibility failings by Bet365.

Notably, customer interactions were deemed inadequate, lacking tailored approaches to individual customer journeys or harm spectrums.

Additionally, Bet365's Early Risk Detection System was found ineffective in gauging the impact of interactions on customers, hindering the ability to take necessary actions.

Moreover, the operator failed to ensure that customers comprehended the information or advice provided.

Furthermore, four anti-money laundering failings were highlighted, including ineffective enhanced due diligence and Know Your Customer (KYC) triggers, failure to conduct financial sanction checks on new customers before their first deposits, and deficiencies in independent verification checks.

The Gambling Commission emphasizes its expectations for high standards from operators to maintain gambling safety, fairness, and crime prevention.

While acknowledging that Bet365's failings were not as severe as others, the Commission warns of escalating regulatory actions in the event of repeated shortcomings.

This penalty, though substantial, falls below previous fines issued by the Gambling Commission, such as the £6.0m fine imposed on Gamesys in January for similar compliance failures.