Gambling company Betway hit with record ₤ 11.6 m charge

12 March 2020

Online wagering firm Betway has actually been hit with a record penalty of ₤ 11.6 m for failings over customer security and money-laundering checks.

The Gambling Commission stated Betway failed to check the source of funds of one client who transferred over ₤ 8m and lost over ₤ 4m in a four-year duration.

It likewise stopped working to efficiently engage with a customer who transferred and lost ₤ 187,000 in two days.

The penalty bundle is the biggest to date faced by a UK betting company.

The Gambling Commission's investigation said the failings were linked to negotiations with 7 of Betway's high-spending consumers.

William Hill site Mr Green to pay ₤ 3m charge

'My hubby took ₤ 300,000 to fund his betting practice'

It stated that "as a result of an absence of consideration of private consumers affordability and source of funds checks, the operator permitted ₤ 5.8 m of money to stream through the business which has been found, or might fairly be presumed to be, proceeds of crime".

The commission stated the investigation had also revealed "insufficient management oversight", including that a probe "into accountable Personal Management Licence holders" was continuing.

"The actions of Betway recommend there was little regard for the well-being of its VIP consumers or the influence on those around them," said Richard Watson, executive director at the Gambling Commission.

"As part of our continuous programme of work to make gambling more secure, we are pressing the market to make fast progress on the areas that we think about will have the most considerable effect to secure customers," he added.

"The treatment and handling of high-value consumers is a substantial piece of that work and operators remain in no doubt about the requirement to take on the problem at speed."