BetFred to Pay £800,000 After Failing to Comply With Anti-Money Laundering Rules
British bookmaker BetFred will be required to pay £800,000 following an investigation whereby it was determined the business failed to comply with the UK Gambling Commission’s anti-money laundering and social responsibilities.
The ruling comes following a 2015 case whereby a BetFred customer had been jailed for three years and four months for wagering with money stolen from his employer.
Betfred will now pay £443,000 to the victims of the criminal activities, with a further £344,500 paid to socially responsible causes, as agreed with the Gambling Commission. A third party review will also be conducted by the company.
Richard Watson, programme director at the Gambling Commission, said: "We identified a number of weaknesses in the anti-money laundering and social responsibility controls used by Betfred. The penalty package of over £800,000 reflects these failures.
"The commission has now concluded a wide range of cases over the last 10 months leading to around £3.75million in penalty packages. The outcomes and findings in these cases provide a clear signal to operators of the need to learn the lessons from these for social responsibility and money laundering controls, or risk facing tougher sanctions."
BetFred reacted to the ruling with a spokesman stating: "Betfred notes the findings of the Gambling Commission relating to a historical case of an online customer.
"We have greatly strengthened our policies and will continue to review and update our anti-money laundering and social responsibility procedures.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
