2023 was a busy year for gambling industry regulators across the globe as financial penalties for the year grew by 42.3% year-on-year to a record-breaking $442.6 million (€402 million/£347.7 million).
Australia and UK Set New Records
Australian state gambling regulators issued a record-breaking AU$457.6 million in fines to gambling operators throughout 2023. The record amount was thanks to a AU$450 million fine issued to Crown Resorts by The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC). The financial penalty was agreed after the operator was found guilty of breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act).
Crown’s financial penalty is the largest settlement or fine ever paid by a gambling operator beating the previous record of AU$120 million issued to the same company in 2022.
The UK Gambling Commission collected £214.2 million in fines and agreed settlements during 2023, the year that the long-awaited White Paper on Gambling Reform was finally published. The largest fine of the year, a UK record £19.2 million, was issued to the William Hill Group. The fine was for serious social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures at three of its gambling businesses. WHG International Limited (williamhill.com) was fined £12.5 million, Mr Green Limited (mrgreen.com) was fined £3.7 million and William Hill Organization Limited, which operates the group’s 1,344 retail bookmakers across the UK, was fined £3 million.
Canada’s province of Ontario was the only gambling regulator in the country to publish details of any fines issued throughout the year. Following the successful launch of Ontario’s iGaming industry in 2022, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) issued a total of seven fines in 2023. The largest fine of CA$150,000 was issued to PointsBet for violations of internet gaming responsible gambling standards.
Meanwhile, in the United States fines across states with legal gambling came to just $1.6 million. The largest fine of the year was issued by the Colorado state gaming regulator which fined Nevada-based Monarch Casinos & Resort $400,000. The fine was issued following an investigation which revealed that sportsbook employees were placing proxy bets on behalf of out-of-state customers.
The Netherlands gambling authority, de Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), was one of the busiest regulators during 2023 collecting a total of 21 financial penalties and settlements from both online and land-based gambling operators. The largest fine levied by the KSA was the €6,794,000 fine issued to Goldwin Limited for operating in the Dutch market without a license.
Fines by Country
| Country | Total Fines US$ / € / £ |
|---|---|
| Australia | $311.4 million / €283.6 million / £254.7 million |
| UK | $271.6 million / €247.3 million / £214.2 million |
| Greece | $26.8 million / €24.5 million / £21.5 million |
| Netherlands | $26 million / €23.7 million / £20.5 million |
| Sweden | $9.2 million / €8.3 million / £7.2 million |
| Gibraltar | $3.6 million / €3.3 million / £2.9 million |
| Singapore | $1.7 million / €1.6 million / £1.4 million |
| USA | $1.6 million / €1.5 million / £1.3 million |
| Malta | $966,091 / €880,594 / £763,273 |
| Canada (Ontario) | $365,252 / €332,707 / £288,228 |
| Lithuania | $94,628 / €86,228 / £74,705 |
| Germany | $54,869 / €50,000 / £43,320 |
| Denmark | $15,984 / €14,567 / £12,623 |
A full breakdown of all fines issued throughout 2023 can be found on our Gambling Industry Fines page.
London based reporter covering all aspects of the global regulated and unregulated land-based and online gambling industry - including business news, sports-betting, casinos, poker & regulation