• Home
• News
• Betfred Fined by the UK Gambling Commission for AML Failures

Betfred Fined by the UK Gambling Commission for AML Failures

The UK Gambling Commission’s investigation on Betfred’s handling of a case that happened two years ago led to a fine of £322,000. Petfre Gibraltar Limited is the company that owns the well-known gaming brand and the one that will pay the penalty for failing to comply with anti-money laundering measures. In 2017, a customer deposited and lost £140,000 after being the victim of theft over the course of 12 days. Betfred’s failure to ensure proper AML prompted the investigation and the company was found at fault.

The inquiry took nearly 2 years, but the time has finally come for the gaming company to pay for the poor handling of the November 2017 incident. The regulator has highlighted the fact that the player lost a lot of money over a short period of time therefore, their anti-money laundering policy was lacking. There are certain procedures in place aimed at preventing precisely these kinds of incidents and unfortunately, Petfre failed to properly implement them.

Betfred Reimburses the Victim and Pays a Penalty

The £322,000 penalty will be divided into two nearly identical amounts, with the victim of the theft to be paid back £140,000. Betfred has agreed to pay an additional £182,000 to the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms one of the key programs of the UK GC. This is the result of the two parties reaching an agreement to make the investigation and its conclusions public. This approach should provide other gaming operators with the incentive to overhaul their AML policies to avoid similar incidents.

Betfred has also agreed to pay the costs of the investigation which amount to £15,168.42. At the end of the day, the combined amount doesn’t represent too much for a gambling operator of this magnitude. Furthermore, the UK Gambling Commission praised Betfred for collaborating with the investigators and providing all the information needed.