The second online gambling company in the space of a week to be fined is Platinum Gaming. Platinum Gaming isn’t a very well known company, but you will know their brand, Unibet.
Under Investigation
Unibet had been under investigation after it was discovered that a convicted fraudster has deposited £629,420 of stolen money. During the investigation, it emerged customer’s deposits were so high and losses so significant, Platinum Gaming should have considered refusing or barring service to the customer. Instead the operator continued to allow the customer to gamble freely.It was also revealed the operator breached anti-money laundering regulations in the process, including a failure to make adequate enquiries about the source of the funds the customer used to gamble.
Return Funds
As part of a settlement with the Commission, Platinum Gaming returned £629,420 to the fraudster’s victims and will pay £990,200 in lieu of a financial penalty. This money will be spent accelerating delivery of the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms.Richard Watson, Gambling Commission Executive Director, said: “There were weaknesses in Platinum Gaming’s systems and as a consequence, more than half a million pounds of stolen money flowed through the business. This is not acceptable and I would urge all operators to carefully read this case and learn lessons so they don’t make the same mistakes.”This comes as a surprise, since Unibet are such an established brand. Also they are known to be fair and above board in the way they do things. This is also the first time they have ever been fined by the UK Gambling Commission.