The UK Gambling Commission has once again demonstrated its strict stance. The Gambling Commission recently ruled that the operator of the well-known gambling brand Betfred, Done Brothers, due to a series of violations in social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML), must pay a fine of 825,000 pounds (approximately 1.1 million US dollars) and accept an independent third-party audit. This is the second time the operator has faced regulatory penalties in just over two years.
Violation details: "Systematic" oversight in physical stores
The regulatory body found that the issues were concentrated in approximately 1,350 physical betting shops of Betfred across the UK, with violations occurring from May 2024 to March 2025. Although there are no specific customer victim cases, the commission considers its systematic "technical violations" unacceptable.
In terms of anti-money laundering, the regulatory body explicitly pointed out that Betfred failed to effectively identify and manage the money laundering risks associated with B3 gaming machine (a type of fixed-odds betting terminal) customers. Despite machine alerts and daily reports, the processes at the time could not assess the overall consumption of customers, and naturally, it was impossible to analyze the related money laundering and terrorist financing risks. Additionally, the company lacks effective policies to identify players who may be subject to financial sanctions.
Lack of social responsibility: High and ineffective intervention thresholds
In terms of social responsibility, Betfred's performance also failed to meet standards. The regulatory body criticized it for not adequately identifying the consumption of B3 gaming machine players and the potential harm financial indicators reflected. More critically, the company's "interactions" with customers had serious issues: sometimes, even after identifying risk indicators, no interaction occurred; and even when interactions did occur, the methods did not "maximize the reduction of gambling-related harm risks." The quality of interactions, especially the understanding of their effects, did not meet the required standards.
The regulatory report also specifically pointed out that Betfred's threshold settings for initiating investigations into customer income sources were "not based on appropriate risk assessments." The thresholds at the time were: losses of 15,000 pounds or betting amounts reaching 125,000 pounds within 365 days. The commission believes that these thresholds were too high and not sufficiently risk-oriented in practice.
Record of repeat offenses and industry tightening trend
It is noteworthy that this is the second violation by Betfred and its operator in just over two years. As early as July 2023, the company had paid a regulatory settlement of up to 3.25 million pounds for similar anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures.
John Pierce, the enforcement director of the Gambling Commission, noted that although Betfred has made some improvements after the issues were identified, independent third-party audits will be key to ensuring these changes are continuously implemented. He reiterated: "Licensed operators must fully comply with social responsibility and anti-money laundering requirements."
This penalty for Betfred is a reflection of the ongoing tightening of regulations by the UK Gambling Commission. Recently, the Gambling Commission has taken action against several operators, including suspending the license of Deadheat Racing, and imposing fines of 650,000 pounds each on Videoslots and NetBet. For global gambling compliance dynamics and in-depth analysis, follow PASA's official website for more information.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
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