SpreadEx have been heavily fined by the UK Gambling Commission for breaking anti-money laundering (AML) and safer gambling rules. The £2 million ($2.6m) fine was given for failings during a compliance check back in July 2023 and related to their license to run casino and betting services in Great Britain.
As well as paying the hefty fine the company must now undergo an independent audit to show its fixing its AML as well as taking a more serious approach to safer gambling. The breaches took place between September 2022 and November 2023 but this isn’t the first time SpreadEx have been punished. In August of 2022 it had to pay a £1.4m fine for similar social responsibility failings and AML.
Here are some of the failings of AML by the company:
- Their risk assessment was poor and different properly cover payment, customer or product risks.
- The company took their customers’ word with regards to their finances and not asking for proof.
- A customer deposited £64,000 in a short period of time and lost a substantial £50,000 in just a month without asking where the money had come from.
Where the safer gambling breaches were
- A customer managed to go over their daily limit twelve times in 14 days which was set at £3,340. The company SpreadEx only sent four automated pop-up messages without communicating over call to see if the player was at risk.
Gambling Commissions Response
The Gambling Commission’s head of enforcement John Pierce called the behavior by SpreadEx “unacceptable”. He stressed the betting company relied too much on the clients’ assurance and didn’t act quick enough when high levels of play happened regularly.
Pierce stressed that operators must:
- AML and safer gambling systems in place with strict guidelines.
- Respond much more quickly to suspicious activity.
- Work with organisations like the Financial Conduct Authority
He warned that repeated breaches will incur more fines.