The operator behind major UK gambling firm Unibet, Platinum Gaming, has been fined £10 million by the Gambling Commission.
The fine was issued due to failures to enforce safer gambling and anti-money laundering measures.
Platinum Gaming, which also owns Bingo.com, was issued with a warning by the UK watchdog and must now undergo a third-party audit.
This isn’t the only time they’ve been caught up in a similar predicament, fined £2.9 million for the same violations back in 2023. Around that point, Kindred’s 32Red brand was fined £4.2 million for similar issues too.
Also, earlier this year in May – Unibet was fined AU$1 million for over 100,000 breaches of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
Throughout the Gambling Commission’s investigation, which covered the period between January 2023 and May 2024, its system failed to identify one customer as at risk of harm despite losing £5,000 within a day of creating an account – that player went on to lose £16,000 in three months.
Another user had reached their monthly loss limit six times, accumulating losses of over £30,000 but the operator did not intervene. The system also failed to spot an at-risk customer who blew £2,500 within 16 minutes of registering.
Some players who had accounts closed due to anti-money laundering breaches or terrorist funding were even able to rejoin and start gambling again.
The £10 million fine is the largest the regulator has handed out this year – and one of the biggest in history. Its director of enforcement, John Pierce, called on Platinum Gaming to take accountability for the findings.
“The case revealed serious shortcomings in customer interaction systems, including failures to identify and act on clear markers of harm.
“These included consumers losing thousands within hours or days of registration, repeatedly breaching loss limits, and exhibiting patterns of binge and high-velocity gambling without appropriate intervention.
“Significant anti-money laundering failures were also identified.”
The third-party audit will ensure Platinum is effectively implementing its AML and safer gambling policies.
Joe Lyons is a betting industry writer for GamblingIndustryNews with years of experience on reputable gambling websites. Joe specialises in long form content in the world of sports betting and gambling. Joe is recognised as an expert in sports fields such as horse racing, soccer, NFL and NBA.
