UK-based gambling company QuinnBet has reached a settlement of £609,104 with the UK Gambling Commission after the regulator exposed failures in anti-money laundering and social responsibility operations.
The Commission’s investigation showed problems with deposit limits, indicators of gambling harm and vulnerability checks that were deemed too light, as well as several anti-money laundering failures such as an over-reliance on ‘Source of Wealth’ checks.
In terms of the deposit limits, the Commission said that there was a “manual process” for 18-24-year-olds to be able to spend over the deposit limits introduced by the operator due to “ineffective controls”, with one player placing “approximately 4,800 bets in one day and 7,000 the following day” without being flagged.
As for money laundering checks, the online bookmaker and online casino, QuinnBet failed to spot “disproportionate” spending, such as one customer who lost £9,000 in four days despite providing payslips showing monthly earnings of around £2,000.
John Pierce, the Commission’s director of enforcement, said: “This case highlights the serious consequences of relying on systems and controls that are unable to identify and respond to indicators of harm and financial crime quickly enough.
“We expect operators to ensure their safeguards are effective in practice to protect consumers and keep crime out of gambling.
“In this case, the operator recognised the issues and took immediate action to make significant improvements to its systems and controls,” Pierce said.
“This included strengthening their AML policies and procedures and improving how they identify and respond to indicators of harm.
“We expect operators to learn from this case and read the public statement to ensure that they do not make the same mistakes. Our key focus is on ensuring that operators meet the standards we expect and, where they fall short, we will take regulatory action where necessary,” he added.
