A few months ago, 888 Holdings owners of Dragonfish Bingo were fined a substantial amount of money by the Gambling Commission for their social responsibility and anti-money laundering failings.
Customer Transactions At William Hill Linked To Criminal Offences
Last week we saw William Hill hit where it hurts, on the bottom line, with a fine that, while not quite as large, was also reasonably hefty at £6.2 million! The extent of their failings has stunned the industry and the general public, and the Gambling Commission described them as ‘systematic failures.
An investigation from the Gambling Commission found that William Hill breached anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures in less than two years (November 2014 until August 2016).
It was assessed that management had not mitigated risk, nor did they have the right staff to ensure anti-money laundering and social responsibility policies were effective. Because of this, ten players could deposit quite large amounts of money in a short time that got linked to criminal offences.
The deposits from these customers alone result in William Hill gains of approximately £1.2 million. This amount is part of the fine and will get divested.
Examples Of Failings By William Hill
Several examples were shown in the article published on the Gambling Commission website. Below are just a couple taken from the article:
- One player deposited a whopping £654,000 in just nine months, and no one from William Hill checked the source of his funds. It was found that the player in question rented property and was only earning £30,000 a year in an accounts department.
- Another customer deposited less, but not much, in a more extended period of 14 months. His deposits totalled £541,000, but William Hill did speak to him verbally. From that conversation, they assumed that his potential income could be £365,000, but actually, he was earning £30,000 and stealing from his employer!
Other examples can be found in the original article on the Gambling Commission website.
William Hill has since made numerous changes in its organization to ensure that it meets compliance regulations in the United Kingdom. Cleaning up its act means it will start asking questions about deposits made by players.
The online bingo industry has recently felt the full force of this new regulatory compliance. Bingo players on the Dragonfish Bingo network have been put through this process over the last two months. It is also a direct consequence of the fine paid for being non-compliant.