Online gambling operator QuinnBet (Gibraltar) Limited, which operates quinnbet.com, will pay £609,104 following an investigation by the UK Gambling Commission.
The investigation identified failures in the operator’s anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility controls.
Among the issues identified were weaknesses in the protection of potentially vulnerable customers. A manual process allowed customers aged 18 to 24 to exceed deposit limits set by the operator for this potentially vulnerable group.
The Commission also found that ineffective controls failed to consistently identify and flag indicators of potential gambling harm, including high deposits, short high-velocity sessions, increasing stakes, high numbers of bets and significant turnover.
In one case, a customer was able to place approximately 4,800 bets in one day and another 7,000 the following day without the activity being identified and flagged for review.
In another case, a customer’s stakes escalated following a large win, with more than £215,000 staked in a single day, including multiple wagers above £5,000. The activity was not identified until a report was produced the following day.
The investigation also found AML weaknesses. In one example, a customer provided payslips showing monthly earnings of around £2,000 but was able to deposit and lose £9,000 within four days.
The operator also allowed some customers to deposit significant amounts without establishing the source of funds and had insufficient controls to ensure suspicious activity reports were submitted promptly once the threshold for suspicion had been reached.
John Pierce, Gambling Commission Director of Enforcement, said the case highlighted the consequences of relying on systems that cannot identify and respond to indicators of harm and financial crime quickly enough.
QuinnBet recognised the issues and took action to strengthen its AML policies and procedures and improve how it identifies and responds to indicators of gambling harm.
The £609,104 payment forms part of a settlement with the UK Gambling Commission.
