Betway is hit by record £11.6m fine for failing in its social responsibility to customers after ‘VIP’ client lost £4m of an £8m deposit while another gambled away £187,000 in two days
- Malta-based firm failed to carry out source of funds checks on ‘VIP’ customer
- They deposited more than £8million and lost more than £4million in four years
- Did not do effective social responsibility interactions with another customer
- They deposited and lost £187,000 in two days, the Gambling Commission said
Online gambling business Betway was today hit with a record £11.6million penalty package for a series of social responsibility and money laundering failings.
The company failed to carry out source of funds checks on a ‘VIP’ customer who deposited more than £8million and lost more than £4million in four years.
It also did not carry out effective social responsibility interactions with a customer who deposited and lost £187,000 in two days, the Gambling Commission said.
Betway is a brand managed by a Maltese registered company in this building in Gzira, Malta
Betway sponsors Premier League football club West Ham United and features on their shirts. There is no suggestion of the team or their players being involved in any wrongdoing
A probe found the firm allowed £5.8million to flow through the business which has been found, or could reasonably be suspected to be, proceeds of crime.
Most of this money will now be divested and returned to the victims. The regulator probe also found there had been inadequate management oversight.
Gambling Commission executive director Richard Watson said: ‘The actions of Betway suggest there was little regard for the welfare of its VIP customers or the impact on those around them.’
‘As part of our ongoing programme of work to make gambling safer we are pushing the industry to make rapid progress on the areas that we consider will have the most significant impact to protect consumers.
Online gambling business Betway was today hit with a record £11.6million penalty package
‘The treatment and handling of high value customers is a significant piece of that work and operators are in no doubt about the need to tackle the issue at speed.
‘We have set tight deadlines for when we expect to see progress and if we do not see the right results then we will have no choice but to take further action. This case highlights again why progress needs to be made.’
The Betway case is the largest penalty package ever in the UK.
Previous cases which were the largest at the time include online gambling firm 888 being hit with a penalty package of more than £7.8million in 2017 and William Hill facing a penalty package of at least £6.2million in 2018.
Others include Daub Alderney facing a payment of £7.1 million in 2018 and Ladbrokes Coral Group facing a payment of £5.9million in 2019.