- William Hill was fined a record £19m for anti-money laundering and social responsibility transgressions.
- Multiple accounts were reported to have lost £20,000 or more within minutes of opening.
LONDON – The UK Gaming Commission fined William Hill and its sister company Mr. Green a total of £19.2 million (~$20.8 million) for their inadequate monitoring of customer spending. The negligence of social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures are the causes of the fine.
Reports by the Gambling Commission claim that three customers each spent upwards of £20,000 ($21,687) in the span of two days without ever being checked. The anti-money-laundering failures saw even bigger numbers over a long period, with one customer at the online gambling site losing over £70,000 ($75,904.50) in a month.
The Gambling Commission regulates the gambling and lottery industry in Great Britain.
William Hill failed to conduct routine checks on accounts and never acted upon large wagers placed within minutes of customers opening an account.
In addition to failing to prevent obvious money laundering efforts, William Hill failed to assess the risk some customers presented with their irresponsible gambling issues.
Despite numerous customers gambling online and losing an alarming amount of money, William Hill never requested an income check or any form of intervention with struggling customers.
The firm also allowed one customer to place a £100,000 ($108,435) bet despite their credit limit being £70,000 ($75,904.50). The lack of social responsibility nearly cost William Hill its gambling license.
William Hill’s parent company, 888 Holdings, recently moved on from Chief Executive Itai Pazner because of the failures to abide by the anti-money laundering conduct. William Hill was able to keep its license based on its quick efforts to clean up its act.
The Gambling Commission’s historically large fining of William Hill for its violations will likely have an impact on British law. The reforms of British Gambling laws, which focus on mandatory checks and betting limits, are expected to become finalized in the coming days.