04 April 2024
Bet365's entities, Hillside (UK Gaming) ENC and Hillside (UK Sports) ENC, will collectively pay £582,120 for failures in anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility within their online gambling operations. This payment forms part of a regulatory settlement, with the funds directed towards socially responsible causes. These issues were identified during a compliance assessment by the Commission in March 2022.
The social responsibility shortcomings included ineffective customer interactions that weren't tailored to individual needs or risks, and an Early Risk Detection System that failed to measure the effectiveness of these interactions on customer behavior. Additionally, Bet365's methods for evaluating customer engagement with provided information were insufficient.
On the anti-money laundering front, Bet365 was found lacking in effective customer due diligence and Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols, which inadequately addressed money laundering risks. This included failures in conducting financial sanctions checks on new customers before their initial deposits and over-reliance on customers' self-verification of KYC data without independent verification checks.
Kay Roberts, Executive Director of Operations, noted that while these were less severe than issues seen at other gambling businesses, they were significant enough to require corrective action and warned of escalating regulatory measures for any future failings. The emphasis remains on maintaining high standards to keep gambling safe, fair, and crime-free.
Read the full article here.
Comments