Gambling company Betway hit with record ₤ 11.6 m charge

12 March 2020

Online betting company Betway has actually been hit with a record penalty of ₤ 11.6 m for failings over consumer defense and money-laundering checks.

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

It likewise failed to successfully connect with a customer who transferred and lost ₤ 187,000 in two days.

The penalty package is the greatest to date faced by a UK gambling company.

The Gambling Commission's investigation stated the failings were connected to negotiations with 7 of Betway's high-spending clients.

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It said that "as an outcome of an absence of factor to consider of specific clients price and source of funds checks, the operator allowed ₤ 5.8 m of money to flow through the company which has actually been found, or could fairly be believed to be, profits of criminal activity".

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

"The actions of Betway suggest there was little regard for the welfare of its VIP customers 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 quick progress on the areas that we consider will have the most considerable impact to safeguard consumers," he added.

"The treatment and handling of high-value customers is a considerable piece of that work and operators are in no doubt about the requirement to deal with the issue at speed."