UK Gambling Commission Imposes £10 Million Fine on Platinum Gaming for Regulatory Breaches
UK Gambling Commission Penalizes Platinum Gaming with £10 Million Fine
The United Kingdom’s Gambling Commission (UKGC) has imposed a substantial fine on Platinum Gaming Limited for serious violations of gambling regulations. The company, which operates the Unibet.co.uk and uk.bingo.com platforms, faced penalties due to breaches in anti-money laundering (AML) protocols and failures in social responsibility.
Details of the Penalty and Additional Measures
Platinum Gaming was ordered to pay a £10 million financial penalty as a consequence of its regulatory shortcomings. Beyond the fine, the UKGC mandated the company to engage an independent third-party auditor. This auditor will oversee the company’s implementation of corrective actions to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory standards.
This latest fine follows a previous enforcement action where Platinum Gaming was fined £2.9 million for similar offenses.
Failures in Protecting High-Risk Players
The UKGC highlighted that Platinum Gaming failed to intervene appropriately in cases involving players at high risk of harm. Examples cited include instances where players lost significant sums shortly after account creation, such as one player losing £5,000 within a day and another losing £31,000 over several months. Other cases revealed players exceeding loss limits within minutes or placing very large bets in short periods without adequate intervention from the operator.
Shortcomings in Anti-Money Laundering Procedures
In addition to social responsibility failures, Platinum Gaming neglected to properly monitor customers who previously had accounts closed due to AML concerns. The company allowed some of these individuals to open new accounts without proper due diligence. The UKGC criticized the company for unclear policies on customer due diligence and noted a lack of consideration for important AML risk factors such as occupations deemed high risk, transaction volumes, and significant loss amounts during customer reviews.
UKGC’s Response and Expectations for Platinum Gaming
John Pierce, the UKGC‘s director of enforcement, expressed his disappointment regarding Platinum Gaming’s breaches, particularly citing the gap between the operator’s stated frameworks and the actual practices. He emphasized that the company must undertake a follow-up independent audit and internal investigation, with ongoing reporting to the commission, to enforce meaningful changes and strengthen compliance culture.
Pierce underscored that as a leading entity in the UK gambling sector, Platinum Gaming has a responsibility to lead by example. Failure to improve may result in further regulatory action against the operator.
