Gambling operator AG Communications Limited has been fined £1,407,834 by the U.K. Gambling Commission following an investigation that uncovered significant Social Responsibility and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) failures.
The operator, trading as AspireGlobal and managing 58 websites, will pay the settlement amount to socially responsible causes.
Social Responsibility Failures:
- Inadequate Systems: The operator lacked effective systems to prevent customers from spending large amounts of money quickly without assessing potential gambling-related harm. The concern was that the velocity of spend was not identified or acted upon swiftly.
- Safer Gambling Interaction: One customer lost £6,000 in 48 hours without a proper safer gambling interaction. A telephone interaction was only attempted when the daily loss limit of £5,000 in 24 hours was reached.
- Backstop System Failure: A customer deposited and lost £7,000 in just over four hours. Due to a system error, the customer played through the backstop limit without being flagged. A manual review failed to identify this issue.
- Self-Exclusion Failure: One customer managed to open multiple gambling accounts despite having previously self-excluded.
Anti-Money Laundering Failures:
- Over-Reliance on Financial Thresholds: AML/Counter Terrorist Financing (CTF) policies depended too heavily on financial thresholds.
- Delayed ECDD Checks: Customers reaching a medium, medium/high, or high ML risk score were not subjected to manual Enhanced Customer Due Diligence (ECDD) checks until hitting a financial trigger.
- ECDD Delays: There were delays in completing ECDD checks once financial thresholds were reached. One customer waited a week for an ECDD review after hitting the financial threshold.
- Policy Non-Compliance: The operator failed to follow its ECDD policy. A customer who reached a financial threshold but did not have a high AML risk score waited eight days for a manual ECDD review, contrary to the policy.
This marks the second regulatory action against AG Communications Limited. In 2022, the operator paid £237,600 for AML failures.
John Pierce, Commission Director of Enforcement, stated: “This case marks the second occasion that this operator has been subject to enforcement action. Its failure to uphold anti-money laundering standards, delays in necessary interventions, and deficiencies in social responsibility measures are wholly unacceptable.
“Today’s outcome underscores the gravity of these breaches. It is essential that operators not only implement and maintain robust anti-money laundering policies, procedures, and controls but also act swiftly and decisively in response to any indications of suspicious activity. Effective social responsibility measures must be in place at all times to ensure that consumers identified as at risk receive timely and appropriate intervention.
“This case stands as a clear warning to all operators that repeated regulatory failings will result in increasingly stringent enforcement action.”
