The UK Gambling Commission has imposed a fine of £10 million ($13.4 million) on Platinum Gaming, the operator of the Unibet bingo game brand UK.bingo.com, and issued a formal warning due to serious breaches in anti-money laundering and social responsibility on the platform. The violations include failing to identify high-risk players, allowing banned customers to open new accounts, and lacking an effective customer interaction system. The Commission noted that a player lost £5,000 within 24 hours of registration and over £16,000 within three months without triggering intervention mechanisms. Platinum is also required to undergo a third-party audit and strengthen compliance measures. This is the second time in two years that the operator has been penalized for similar issues, having been fined £2.9 million in March 2023.
Overview of Penalties and Nature of Violations
The UK Gambling Commission has fined Platinum Gaming £10 million and issued a formal warning for serious breaches in anti-money laundering and social responsibility at its operated platform UK.bingo.com. The operator is also required to undergo a third-party audit to ensure effective implementation of anti-money laundering and safer gambling policies.
The penalties target violations from January 2023 to May 2024, involving multiple breaches of license conditions and social responsibility codes.
Examples of Social Responsibility Failures
The regulatory body listed several cases of social responsibility failures: a player lost £5,000 within 24 hours of registration and over £16,000 within three months without intervention; another player lost £31,000 within nine months, reaching the monthly loss limit six times and showing signs of high-speed gambling harm, yet the operator never interacted with them.
The system also failed to identify users who lost over £2,500 within 16 minutes of registration, and those who bet £73,000 and lost £4,100 within 23 days without taking action.
Ineffective Anti-Money Laundering Controls
Platinum's anti-money laundering risk assessment failed to consider customers whose accounts were closed before 2023 due to money laundering or terrorism financing issues, allowing some banned customers to open new accounts for gambling. The anti-money laundering policy lacked clarity in customer due diligence and risk grading measures.
There was no evidence that customer assessments considered potential risk factors such as high-risk occupations, high transaction volumes, and significant losses.
Historical Penalties and Remediation Requirements
This is the second penalty for Platinum within two years, with a previous fine of £2.9 million in March 2023 (during the same period, Kindred's 32Red was fined £4.2 million). Besides financial penalties, the operator must conduct independent audits and internal investigations, and regularly report progress to the Commission.
Additional conditions aim to drive substantial changes, strengthen accountability, and build a compliance culture, with senior leadership responsible for the outcomes.
Regulatory Comments and Details of Violations
John Pierce, the Commission's enforcement officer, pointed out that the main issues were uncontrolled high expenditures and severe flaws in the customer interaction system, failing to identify and address clear signs of harm. These signs included losing thousands of pounds within hours or days of registration, repeatedly breaking loss limits, and uncontrolled gambling patterns.
The violations involved license condition 12.1.1 (anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing) and 12.1.2 (anti-money laundering measures for operators in foreign jurisdictions), as well as social responsibility code 3.4.3.
System Deficiencies and Risk Identification
Platinum's system failed to timely identify high-risk behaviors and trigger intervention mechanisms, such as rapid substantial losses, frequent breaches of limits, and high-speed gambling patterns. There was a lack of effective automatic monitoring and manual review processes, leading to multiple missed intervention opportunities.
The customer interaction mechanism had structural flaws, failing to effectively implement responsible gambling requirements.
Remediation Requirements and Ongoing Supervision
The Commission requires Platinum to undergo comprehensive system upgrades and process improvements, including strengthening customer risk assessments, improving due diligence measures, and establishing effective intervention mechanisms. A third-party audit will assess the remediation effects, and the operator must regularly submit progress reports.
Senior management must take direct responsibility for compliance outcomes, ensuring the organization fully learns from the lessons and establishes a board-level oversight mechanism.
Industry Impact and Compliance Warning
This substantial fine sends a clear signal to the gambling industry, emphasizing the importance of compliance with anti-money laundering and social responsibility. The Commission will continue to monitor the effectiveness of customer protection measures and impose severe penalties for similar violations.
Operators need to reassess their compliance systems to ensure effective identification of high-risk customers and timely intervention.
Player Protection and Responsibility Awareness
The cases show that missing player protection mechanisms can lead to severe financial harm, and operators have a responsibility to establish effective systems to identify and assist players at risk. The Commission emphasizes the need to balance commercial operations with social responsibility, ensuring safe and controlled gambling.
Enhancing staff training and improving internal processes are key measures to raise compliance levels.
Future Regulatory and Enforcement Trends
The Commission may undertake further regulatory activities, requiring operators to strengthen structured reporting and board supervision. It will continue to focus on monitoring high-risk behaviors and the effectiveness of interventions, ensuring a deep-rooted compliance culture across all organizational levels.
The industry should anticipate stricter regulatory trends and proactively enhance compliance standards and enforcement efforts.
