Online casino operator settles AML failures with the UK Gambling Commission

On October 10, 2019, the UK Gambling Commission announced a £322,000 (approximately $355 thousand) settlement with Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited, which trades as Betfred, to resolve an investigation by the Commission into money laundering failures by the company.  The investigation revealed that Petfre failed to obtain a Source of Funds report from a customer, and allowed the customer to deposit £210,000 of stolen funds (and lose £140,000 of this) over the course of twelve days.  According to the Gambling Commission, this indicated failings in the effectiveness of the company’s policies and procedures, in violation of license condition 12.1.1, which requires licensees to ensure that policies, procedures and controls are in place, and code provision 2.1.2, which relates to compliance with the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Terrorism Act 2000.