Credit: Mino Surkala (Shutterstock)
Platinum Gaming Ltd, the parent company of Unibet and uk.bingo.com, has been fined a mammoth £10 million by the Gambling Commission for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failings described as ‘serious’ and ‘significant’.
It’s the fifth largest fine ever handed out by the UK regulator, which confirms the level of licence breaches that have been discovered.
Incidences include failing to interact with one customer who wagered £73,000 in the space of just 23 days with the firm.
Serious Shortcomings
As well as having to pay the £10 million fine, Platinum Gaming has been warned as to its future conduct – and will also have to undergo third-party auditing to ensure that more effective social responsibility and AML policies are put in place and adhered to.
That’s after Gambling Commission investigators found a catalogue of failings within the company’s procedures and controls. As well as the customer that was able to stake £73,000 in just 23 days, another was able to exceed their own loss limit of £2,500 in just 16 minutes after registering an account as a new customer.
Platinum failed to interact with another new player that was able to lose £5,000 within 24 hours of signing up, before going on to rack up losses of £16,000 inside three months.
Another failing saw a customer trigger their monthly loss limit six times in the space of nine months, with zero interactions forthcoming from Platinum’s support team. The individual would go on to lose £31,000 in just nine months.
The regulator also identified a slew of anti-money laundering failings, including some customers that had previously had their accounts closed – due to money laundering or terrorist financing concerns – being able to sign up and begin betting again.
And there was no evidence to suggest that the licensee was considering ‘high risk’ factors, such as the customer’s job role, the size of their deposits and the scale of their losses, when completing their risk assessments of individual players.
Commenting on the breaches and subsequent sanctions, John Pierce – the Gambling Commission’s director of enforcement – said: “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.
“Alongside the £10 million financial penalty, this operator is required to conduct a follow-up independent audit and internal investigation.
“These added conditions are designed to drive meaningful change, reinforce accountability and embed a culture of compliance… [or] further regulatory activity will remain a possibility.”
It’s the second time that Unibet’s parent company has been issued with a sizable fine.
Back in 2023, they were forced to pay £2.9 million after a prior investigation found a similar set of issues within Platinum’s operations – again, self-excluded and previously blocked customers were able to sign up for a new account, while other individuals were able to run multiple accounts simultaneously.
A Fine Mess
All of which brings Platinum Gaming’s fine tally to nearly £13 million in the space of two years… now might be the ideal time for them to up their game and improve their behind-the-scenes workings.
Mind you, the £10 million fine issued this week isn’t the largest that the Gambling Commission has handed out over the years. Back in 2020, Betway was fined a then-record of £11.6 million for a series of considerable licence breaches – including one finding which confirmed that millions in ‘stolen money’ had been wagered by VIP customers.
Just one month later, Caesars Entertainment broke Betway’s record when they were hit with a £13 million sanction.
Their failings included allowing one customer to wager £3.5 million in just three months – they also experienced a loss of £1.6 million in that timeframe, while another individual who was known to be a retired postman was allowed to bet £15,000 in just 44 days.
In 2022, Entain was hit with a £17 million fine after a Gambling Commission investigation found that they had failed to intervene in several cases of players exhibiting problem gambling behaviours.
And, in 2023, the largest ever fine issued by the regulator – £19.2 million – was sent the way of William Hill.
They had also showcased significant failings in social responsibility and anti-money laundering, which included allowing one new customer to deposit and bet £23,000 in the space of just 20 minutes.
Other players were able to bet huge sums without adequate source of income or affordability checks being performed, which landed William Hill the biggest fine in UK gambling history.
