John Culatto
THE UK’s Gambling Commission has fined Gibraltar-based online betting company Betfred £2.87 million for failures of its subsidiary Petfre.
According to the Commission, it failed to put into place social responsibility and anti-money laundering checks between October 2019 and December 2020.
Petfre had not enough controls over fast spenders, with one person being allowed to lose £70,000 in just ten hours, one day after opening an account.
Betfred is one of 40 online gaming companies registered in Gibraltar.
Online gambling companies are supposed to make sure players don’t break the bank but Petfre set those limits too high, the commission said.
There were not enough controls to stop money laundering and crime financing, even though no evidence was found of it occurring.
“This is a further example of us taking action to investigate and sanction alarming failures,” Gambling Commission director of enforcement and intelligence Leanne Oxley said.
She said the case would set a benchmark for other gaming operators.
“Where standards do not improve, tougher enforcement will follow,” Oxley added.
Betfred responded by saying it would ‘review all our anti-money laundering and social responsibility policies’.
“We remain committed to providing a safer gambling environment for our customers.” the company said in a statement.
The UK Gambling Commission fined Entain a record £17 million this summer, with other companies also getting similar punishment.
The online gambling industry employs around 1,800 people in Gibraltar that brings in millions of pounds into government coffers every year.
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