Gambling firm Betway hit with record £11.6m fine for accepting stolen money

Company showed ‘little regard’ for welfare of customers, says Gambling Commission

The case is the largest penalty package against a gambling firm ever in the UK and comes as regulators ramp up pressure on the industry to do more to protect customers (Getty/iStock)

Online gambling firm Betway has been hit with a record fine of £11.6m for failing to protect gambling addicts and to prevent people betting with stolen money.

Campaigners called for Betway’s licence to be suspended pending further investigation after the industry regulator found one “VIP” customer deposited over £8m and lost more than £4m over a four-year period.

Another customer lost £187,000 in two days after Betway failed to carry out adequate checks, the Gambling Commission said.

A probe by the commission found that Betway allowed £5.8m to flow through its business which was, or could reasonably be suspected to be, proceeds of crime.

“The actions of Betway suggest there was little regard for the welfare of its VIP customers or the impact on those around them,” said Richard Watson, executive director at the Gambling Commission.

The Betway case is the largest penalty package against a gambling firm ever in the UK and comes as regulators ramp up pressure on the industry to do more to protect customers.

Under particularly close scrutiny is the widespread use of VIP schemes which companies use to ensure customers who gamble large sums keep making bets.

These lucrative customers are assigned relationship managers who offer bonuses and encourage them to gamble if they’ve not done so for some time. Many of these customers have been found to have a gambling problem and in several cases have been found to be using stolen money to fund their habit.

Mr Watson added: “We are pushing the industry to make rapid progress on the areas that we consider will have the most significant impact to protect consumers.

“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.”

Adam Bradford, director of the Safer Online Gambling Group, said: “This is clearly a case where Betway’s licence should be suspended pending further investigation.

“It is completely unacceptable that such systemic failures are continuing to happen. These small fines are a drop in the ocean set against the backdrop of a multibillion-pound industry which is exploiting those who really cannot afford to gamble as chronically as this.

“Questions need to be asked right at the top of Betway, and to see the company continue to trade today is a bitter insult to gambling addicts and their families.”

Other large fines recently meted out by the Gambling Commission include £7.1m for Daub Alderbey in 2018 and Ladbrokes Coral Group having to pay £5.9m in 2019.

William Hill faced a penalty package of at least £6.2m in 2018 for breaching social responsibility and money laundering rules.