On Wednesday, Great Britain’s Gambling Commission fined Unibet bingo brand UK.bingo.com operator Platinum Gaming £10 million ($13.4 million) for “serious” failings related to anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility.

Platinum, which runs the brand, was also handed a formal warning by the regulator. In addition, it must undergo a third-party audit to ensure it is effectively implementing its AML and safer gambling policies.

Detailing the case, the regulator set out a series of failings. In term of social responsibility, it noted several examples of when the operator fell short of licence conditions.

In one case, a customer interaction system failed to identify a player as at risk of harm. This was despite the customer losing £5,000 within 24 hours of registration, then over £16,000 in less than three months.

Another player lost over £31,000 within nine months without the operator interacting with the customer. The same player reached their monthly loss limit on six occasions and demonstrated markers of harm associated with high velocity gambling.

Meanwhile, Platinum failed to identify a user who exceeded their £2,500 loss limit within 16 minutes of registering their account as being at risk of potential harm. In addition, another player staked £73,000 and lost £4,100 over a 23-day period without any interaction from Platinum.

Blocked customers opened new accounts with Platinum

In terms of AML, again the commission offered several examples. It noted how Platinum’s money laundering/terrorist financing risk assessment failed to take into account customers whose accounts had been closed due to money laundering or terrorist funding concerns prior to 2023. As such, some customers whose accounts were blocked were able to open new accounts and gamble.

Meanwhile, the commission said AML policy “lacked clarity” around customer due-diligence and enhanced customer due-diligence measures conducted and how this was determined by the level of risk displayed by a customer.

Other issues included that there was no evidence that potential high-risk factors were considered when customer reviews were undertaken. Such factors include high-risk occupations, high levels of transactions through deposits and withdrawals and high losses.

Concluding the case, which covered the period between January 2023 and May 2024, the regulator set out the specific breaches.

These include paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of licence condition 12.1.1 on anti-money laundering and preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. Platinum also breached licence condition 12.1.2, related to anti-money laundering measures for operators based in foreign jurisdictions.

In addition, it failed to comply with several paragraphs of Social Responsibility Code Provision 3.4.3 on customer interaction.

Gambling Commission fines Unibet brand twice in two years

Incidentally, this was the second time Platinum has faced a financial penalty in recent years.

In March 2023, it was slapped with a fine of £2.9 million, again for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures. At the same time, Kindred’s 32Red brand was fined £4.2 million for similar issues.

Commenting on the latest case, commission Director of Enforcement, John Pierce, spoke of his disappointment over the matter. He said his primary complaint was with unchecked high spending.

“The case revealed serious shortcomings in customer interaction systems, including failures to identify and act on clear markers of harm,” Pierce said. “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.

“Alongside the penalty, this operator is required to conduct a follow-up independent audit and internal investigation – providing regular updates to the Commission. These added conditions are designed to drive meaningful change, reinforce accountability and embed a culture of compliance.

“Senior leaders must take ownership of compliance outcomes and ensure lessons are embedded across the organisation, supported by structured reporting and board level oversight – and further regulatory activity will remain a possibility.”