William Hill let new customer bet ₤ 23,000 in 20 minutes

ByNick Edser
Business reporter

Three betting companies owned by William Hill are to pay penalties of ₤ 19.2 m for stopping working to safeguard customers and weak anti-money laundering controls.

The record charge comes after the Gambling Commission discovered new consumers were able to bet big sums over brief durations without proper checks.

In one case, a client was allowed to open a new account and invest ₤ 23,000 in 20 minutes with no checks.

The commission "seriously considered" suspending William Hill's licence.

It found a number of failures to protect against possible cash laundering, with clients enabled to deposit large quantities without business carrying out suitable checks.

Someone was able to invest and lose ₤ 70,134 in a month, while another transferred ₤ 73,535 and lost ₤ 14,068 in four months.

"When we introduced this promotion code investigation the failings we discovered were so prevalent and alarming major factor to consider was offered to licence suspension," said Andrew Rhodes, the Gambling Commission's chief executive, said:

"However, due to the fact that the operator right away identified their failings and worked with us to swiftly carry out improvements, we instead opted for the yohaig code largest enforcement payment in our history."

Under the conditions of wagering firms' licences, companies should perform checks to determine and contact consumers who may be at danger of damage from gambling.

They need to also check that the cash being used to gamble comes from a legitimate source and is not related to, or being utilized to support, criminal activity.

The concerns uncovered by the commission in between January 2020 and October 2021 included:

someone was allowed to open a brand-new account and wager ₤ 32,500 over two days without any checks

the group failed to determine customers who were at danger of experiencing gambling related damage. In one circumstances, a consumer lost ₤ 14,902 in 70 minutes

the group failed to apply a 24-hour delay between getting requests for a boost in a credit limitation and giving it. One customer was enabled to position a ₤ 100,000 bet right away, although he had a ₤ 70,000 credit limit

consumers had the ability to place big bets without adequate examine the source of the funds being brought out

the group stopped working to request source of funds proof when one client staked ₤ 19,000 in a single bet, and did the same in another case when a punter bet ₤ 39,324 and lost ₤ 20,360 over 12 days.

William Hill was taken over last year by 888 Holdings, a global gambling group that said recently it expected to report profits of ₤ 1.85 bn for 2022, external, with adjusted incomes of ₤ 310m.

888 said the problems had taken place under the previous ownership, and after it bought William Hill "the company quickly resolved the identified concerns with the execution of a rigorous action plan".

Desperate calls: How a gambling dependency took hold

Speaking to the BBC's Today programme, Mr Rhodes said: "The factor we have the requirements to have controls in place is to stop individuals being able to spend such large quantities of cash so quickly without intervention.

"It may be that they can't afford it, it might be that it's an option they want to make, however we need to have safeguards in place, and William Hill accept that they simply didn't have them at this promotion code time."

He stated typically 22.5 million individuals bet each year, each spending less than ₤ 300 in overall.

"So if somebody is spending an uncommon quantity then we would anticipate to see intervention. That is what need to have occurred here," Mr Rhodes said.

Where to get assist on betting

Charity GamCare, which offers information, recommendations and support for anyone affected by betting problems, recommends the following steps if you feel your gambling is going too far:

Speak with a friend or a household member. Even if they might not be able to assist instantly, sharing any concerns you have can be an essential primary step to stop your gaming from intensifying

Restrict access to gambling sites. Using useful tools can help. Gamban is a software provider that obstructs access to betting sites, and you can also self-exclude from sites through Gamstop totally free

Put banking blocks on your card. Many retail banks now provide the capability to obstruct transactions to gambling business.

For other sources of assistance, the NHS addiction assistance site, external details what help is offered.

GamCare operates the National Gambling Helpline, external - consultants are offered 24 hours a day on Freephone 0808 8020 133 or through web chat.

Gamblers Anonymous provides a list of support conferences for issue gamblers in Scotland here, external and in England, Wales and Northern Ireland here., external

Further sources of assistance can be discovered on the BBC Action Line page.

Under the settlement with the William Hill Group, WHG (International), which runs williamhill.com, will pay ₤ 12.5 m, Mr Green, which runs mrgreen.com, will pay ₤ 3.7 m and William Hill Organization, which runs more than 1,300 wagering outlets across Britain, will pay ₤ 3m.

The ₤ 19.2 m collected from the charges will go towards "socially accountable" good causes.

The previous biggest penalty enforced by the Gambling Commission was ₤ 17m against Entain last year.

Despite the charges, Mr Rhodes said there were now "indications of improvement" in betting operators' behaviour.

"There are indicators that the market is doing more to make betting more secure and minimizing the possibility of criminal funds entering their organizations," he said.

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