Bet365 fined £582,000 for failures at online business

Bet365 has been fined £582,120 by the Gambling Commission for anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures at its online business.

In terms of the social responsibility failures, the Commission said interactions with customers were frequently not tailored to "the specific customer journey or spectrum of harm" and therefore were not meaningful.

In addition, an early risk detection system was not demonstrably effective in understanding the impact of individual interactions on a customer’s behaviour and whether further action was required.

It also said that Bet365’s approach to evaluation meant it was unable to effectively ascertain whether a customer had read and understood the information or advice provided within its interactions.

As far as anti-money laundering failures go, the Commission said Bet365’s enhanced customer due diligence and know your customer triggers were "ineffective" at managing risk.

It also pointed to a failure to undertake financial sanctions checks on new customers prior to their first deposits. The company failed to undertake independent verification checks and "over relied" on customers’ annual self-verification of know your customer information, such as identification documents, it added.

Kay Roberts, executive director of operations, said: "The policy and procedural failings may not have been as severe as those at other gambling businesses in recent years but they were failings nonetheless.

"We expect high standards from operators in terms of keeping gambling safe, fair and crime-free, and will always take action to correct any failings. This operator is very aware that a repeat of these failings will result is escalating regulatory action."