Niall Hearty of Rahman Ravelli outlines the shortcomings that led to the gambling company being fined.
British gambling company Bet 365 has been ordered to pay £582,120 for money laundering failures.
The company, which is run by Britain's best-paid woman Denise Coates, was fined by the Gambling Commission.
The Commission said that the company had not been carrying out proper checks on new customers before they made their first deposits, which led to the risk of money laundering going undetected. The fine is set to go to a "socially responsible'' cause that the Commission has not publicly named.
The Commission also said that Bet365's system for preventing harmful gambling was "not demonstrably effective'' in identifying those who could be at risk.
The criticism and the penalty that Bet365 has endured as a result of its failings obviously relate to just that one company. But Bet365's problems should be viewed by all gambling sector companies as a warning of what can happen if they do not meet their obligations to identify and prevent money laundering.
As companies covered by the Money Laundering Regulations, gambling firms are viewed as part of the defence against money launderers. Those attempting to launder the proceeds of crime view the gambling and gaming sector as an area that they can exploit. Companies in the sector need to ensure their activities are designed to take account of that threat.
Such companies need to be carrying out due diligence on their customers, conducting ongoing assessment of the money laundering risk they face and responding appropriately if any causes for concern arise. If they are not sure how to do this, they need to seek advice on what they need to do to meet their legal obligations. Putting it simply, they have to assess the money laundering risk, introduce measures to tackle it, and review and – when necessary – revise those measures so that they remain fit for purpose.
A failure to do this can be costly, as Bet365 has learnt.
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