Operator Greentube Alderney has been ordered to pay £685,000 by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).
The UKGC told the company to pay this money in anti-money laundering settlements, and it follows an investigation launched last December.
Why has Greentube been ordered to pay these settlements?
On 16th December 2020, the UKGC began investigating Greentube — which is owned by Novomatic Interactive. During its investigation, the UK’s gambling regulator found that admiralcasino.co.uk and bellfruitcasino.com — two of Greentube’s subsidiaries — had fallen short in measures related to protecting players from money laundering and general protection.
The UKGC mentioned in its findings that “a politically-exposed person (PEP) was able to gamble up to a £1,000 deposit limit before source of wealth checks were carried out”. In its report, the commission also pointed out the compliance and money laundering areas that Greentube had failed within. These include:
- Transferring funds
- Record-keeping
- Guaranteeing safe interactions with customers
The UKGC found that Greentube did not notify the National Crime Agency of six suspicious activity reports. The operator was obliged to do this in compliance with the 2000 Terrorism Act and 2002 Proceeds of Crime Act.
When it came to customer protection, the commission was critical of how Greentube handled this. According to the UKGC, Greentube relied too much on the threshold it has to define problematic gambling habits — which is a net loss of £1,000 within a 30-day period.
Greentube also didn’t do a good job at identifying harm, according to the UKGC — nor was it proactive enough with intervening when it might have been necessary to do so.
Greentube to have new conditions to its UK licence
The UKGC has gotten tough on gambling operators in the country in recent years, and Greentube will now need to comply with additional measures as part of its UK operating licence.
In the next 12 months, the operator will have to get a third party to perform an audit and determine whether it has sufficiently complied with its licence conditions and codes of practice (LCCP).
Commenting on the report and verdict, UKGC Executive Director Helen Venn said:
“Compliance with Commission rules aimed at keeping people safe and gambling crime-free is not optional.
“We will always take firm action against those operators who fail to meet the high standards we expect for consumers in Britain.”
UK operators have been hit with fines several times in recent years
Greentube isn’t the only betting company to have been hit with a financial penalty by the UKGC in recent years. In March 2021, the commission ordered Casumo to pay a fine worth £6 million; this related to anti-money laundering and social responsibility shortcomings.
In March 2020, Betway was ordered to pay £11.6 million. This was a result of perceived failures with the way that the company dealt with some of its VIP players.
Meanwhile, Mr Green was also forced to pay a significant amount last year. The company was ordered to part with £3 million because of anti-money laundering procedures, along with stopping gambling-related harms.