NetBet Enterprises has been ordered to pay £650,000 after the Gambling Commission (GC) uncovered a series of anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility failures.

NetBet has held a series of GC licences since 2017 and runs seven websites in the UK. Former Arsenal star Ray Parlour is a brand ambassador for the online firm.

Following a licence review, the GC said it had discovered multiple failings, including the firm’s risk assessment around AML omitting “some key risks”.

Those included the management of third-party business relationships, high stakes gambling and third-country nationals in the UK.

Between November 2023 and July 2024, the GC noted that NetBet had failed to ensure it had “appropriate policies, procedures and controls” in place around AML and terrorist financing.

Examples of this included allowing customers being able to spend “disproportionally to their net income” and failing to upgrade customers from low-risk status despite showing “concerning behaviours”.

Additionally, one customer was not referred to NetBet’s money laundering reporting officer (MLRO) and was retained as a low-risk customer despite depositing around £2,000 in four days via Apple Pay.

“A pay slip submitted later by the customer showed monthly net pay of circa £2,800, however, disproportionate spend was not considered when the customer deposited £1,650 within a two-hour period,” the GC added.

£31,000 in deposits failed to be flagged

In terms of social responsibility breaches, the regulator said NetBet’s customer interaction policies had not always been effectively implemented, with multiple indicators of harm not being identified in a timely manner.

One customer started gambling at 3.32am, and within three minutes, had deposited and placed their whole balance of £1,500 on poker.

Further late night and early morning sessions continued, with the player depositing and staking their deposit limit. Despite this, NetBet only sent automated email and pop-up interactions.

Another player deposited £15,000 in 40 minutes and then £15,500 in two hours. The same player was allowed to deposit £31,000 in a two-day period because their limit was set on a calendar month basis.

The GC said these actions were only identified following a manual review of the player’s account.

Other failings were the operator’s safer gambling policy not including details on how to prevent marketing and new bonus offers being pushed towards those showing signs of gambling-related harm.

NetBet’s website during April 2024 also failed to warn potential customers that underage gambling is an offence. This issue was immediately rectified. 

Additionally, the firm failed to explicitly provide details of the terms of a £1m jackpot prize.

Outside of AML and social responsibility shortcomings, NetBet also submitted “inaccurate information” when filing regulatory returns.

The GC said the full £650,000 settlement will go towards socially responsible causes. NetBet will also undergo an independent audit.

The GC added the operator had “swiftly” put an action plan in place, fully cooperated during the investigation and accepted the failings.

John Pierce, GC director of enforcement, said the NetBet fine demonstrated the “serious consequences” of not meeting licence requirements.

He added: “The operator was instructed to take immediate action and make significant improvements to its systems and controls.

“This included strengthening their risk assessments, improving how they identify and respond to indicators of harm and ensuring the accuracy of the data they report to us.

“Alongside the £650,000 financial penalty, the operator is also required to commission an independent audit of its policies, procedures and controls to ensure the necessary improvements they have implemented are properly embedded and remain effective in practice.

“Our focus is on ensuring operators meet the standards we expect and, where they fall short, we will intervene.”

The GC suspended supplier Spribe’s licence last week over issues with hosting and handed a £10m penalty to Platform Gaming – the licensee through which Unibet operates in the UK – earlier in October, after uncovering “serious shortcomings” in customer intervention.

The post NetBet to pay £650,000 over multiple AML and social responsibility failings first appeared on EGR Intel.