12 Failures = Multi-Million Pound Fine

32Red and Platinum Gaming Limited have today received penalties from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures.

32Red Limited (which runs 32red.com), has been ordered to pay £4,195,655 whilst Platinum Gaming Limited (which runs unibet.co.uk), must pay £2,937,599, not only that, but both gambling companies have also received a written official warning following the outcome of the UKGC’s investigation.

There were a total of 5 social responsibility failures plus 7 anti-money laundering failures found as part of the investigation, which were as follows:

Social responsibility failures included:

• Platinum Gaming had failed to identify and interact with more than one customer who may have been experiencing harms associated with gambling.
• Platinum Gaming had inadequate policies and procedures in place which are designed to identify separate accounts held by the same individual, and as such, this allowed self-excluded or blocked customers to register on Platinum Gaming after being blocked or self-excluded on the 32Red platform.
• Customer interactions at 32Red were being undertaken and recorded, however these logs were found to be superficial and lacked depth and probing, resulting in the operator settling for assurances from the customer that they were comfortable with their level of gambling and that they could afford it.
• 32Red controls were not effective meaning they failed to identify (and safeguard) potential problem gamblers https://latestbingobonuses.com/gamblinghelp. One example found that a customer was able to deposit https://latestbingobonuses.com/news/a-dummys-guide-to-bingo-deposit-methods £43K into their account and lose £36K of it within seven days.
• 32Red customer gambling session times were inadequate as they should have prompted earlier identification of customers who may have been experiencing gambling related harm.

Anti-money laundering failures included:

• 32Red failed to implement the measures described by the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer Regulations 2017) thoroughly.
• Customers or 32Red who were required to submit evidence to support Source of Funds (SOF) https://latestbingobonuses.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-kyc / Source of Wealth (SOW) request were, in most cases, not still able to deposit into their account (and gamble with) during the two-week processing period allowed by the operator to respond to the request. As a result of the non-restriction (to depositing and playing), further significant depositing and loss activity occurred.
• The customer account reviews indicated that financial triggers set in place for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) reviews at 32Red were too high and not adequate enough to manage money laundering and terrorist financing risks effectively. Significant levels of gambling were then able to take place (due to inappropriate controls), within a short space of time without the operator understanding customers’ financial situations.
• In relation to 32 Red, there was an over reliance on confidence that funds coming through Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulated firms mitigated/removed proceeds of crime risk.
• One 32Red account was not deposit blocked, in line with its own policy and procedures, after an information request deadline had expired. Due to this, the customer was then able to continue depositing funds into their account, gambling a total of £16,280 losing £8,321 for a further two weeks until their account was finally blocked.
• Platinum Gaming’s policies, procedures and controls in relation to AML were not appropriate.
• Platinum Gaming failed to ensure that it’s policies, procedures and controls were kept under review and revised appropriately to ensure that they remained effective.

Kay Roberts, executive director of the Gambling Commission said: “These failures highlight clearly that both operators failed to interact with customers in a way which minimises the risk of them experiencing harms associated with gambling. Our investigations also showed that policies and procedures were overlooked, both around customer accounts and anti-money laundering practices. Ultimately, it is an example which all gambling operators should take notice of to ensure they protect their customers at all times.”

Source: “Gambling Commission Fines 32Red and Platinum Gaming £7.1m”. Gambling Commission. March 23, 2023.