The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) announced that it has issued a GBP 650,000 penalty to NetBet Enterprises Limited due to anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility failures. The money from the settlement will be redirected to socially responsible causes.
NetBet Failed to Meet the UK’s Regulatory Standards
In its announcement, the UKGC said that NetBet will pay the money as part of its settlement with the commission. In addition to that, the gaming company will be required to onboard the services of an independent auditor to ensure its future compliance.
For context, NetBet’s AML violations included insufficient measures to prevent money laundering. The UKGC’s investigation learned that the company was too reliant on financial triggers, which allowed some customers to spend disproportionately to their net income.
Additionally, the operator falsely flagged cases of significant gambling activity as “low risk” instances. To top it all off, the UKGC understood that NetBet’s AML and CTF risk assessment was insufficient and did not take certain important factors into consideration.
In the meantime, the gaming company’s social responsibility risk included inefficient customer interaction systems and processes that failed to optimally shield players from harm. The UKGC added that indicators of harm were not identified quickly enough and were often spotted only once a manual review had taken place.
The UKGC also noted that NetBet had submitted inaccurate information when submitting its regulatory returns.
Serious Consequences Await Violators
The UKGC’s director of enforcement, John Pierce, commented on NetBet’s failings, critiquing the licensee’s failures and reminding the industry that “serious consequences” await those who fail to meet the UK’s AML and social responsibility standards.
Pierce added that NetBet had been instructed to implement immediate remediation measures and enhance its systems and controls. Among other things, the operator will be required to strengthen its risk assessments, improve its ability to identify and respond to markets of harm, and improve the accuracy of the data it submits to the commission.
Pierce reiterated the GBP 650,000 penalty and added that NetBet will now be required to commission an independent audit of its internal policies and controls.
Our focus is on ensuring operators meet the standards we expect, and where they fall short, we will intervene.
John Pierce, director of enforcement, UKGC
The action against NetBet comes shortly after the regulator fined Platinum Gaming for similar violations.