The UKGC has taken regulatory action against yet another gaming operator, this time cracking down on QuinnBet Limited. According to the regulator’s announcement, the Gibraltar-based company, that runs the quinnbet.com website, committed serious anti-money laundering and social responsibility-related offenses.
QuinnBet Violated the AML & Social Responsibility Requirements
In its announcement, the UKGC said that an investigation into QuinnBet revealed certain AML and social responsibility failures.
The authority clarified that the company’s social responsibility violations included a manual process that allowed players in the age group of 18 to 24 to spend more than young adults are usually allowed to.
The UKGC added that QuinnBet’s responsible gambling controls were lax, meaning that signs of potential harm, such as high deposits, short high-velocity sessions, increasing stakes, number of bets, and high turnover, went unnoticed. The regulator cited an example in which one player placed 4,800 bets in one day, and 7,000 the following day without ever being flagged for potentially harmful gambling.
The UKGC also noted that QuinnBet’s ineffective controls did not always flag indicators of risk of harm on time. One example saw a player win big and wager GBP 215,000 on the day after. While this player’s risky behavior was ultimately identified, this happened only after a report flagged it a day later.
To top it all off, the UKGC determined that QuinnBet was not effectively ensuring that all eligible customers underwent a light-touch financial vulnerability check.
In terms of AML failures, the UKGC determined that QuinnBet had insufficient risk mitigation controls and could not identify potential financial fraud in a timely manner. One particular customer, for example, was allowed to deposit GBP 9,000 in four days despite earning GBP 2,000 a month.
Overall, the UKGC understood that some customers could deposit huge sums without QuinnBet verifying their source of funds. Finally, the operator had insufficient controls to ensure that suspicious activity reports are submitted as soon as possible.
The Operator Has Since Introduced Improvements
As a result of the violations, the UKGC opted to levy a GBP 609,104 ($830,000) fine against the operator. John Pierce, the UKGC’s director of enforcement, said that this fine reflects the serious nature of the violations and “the consequences of relying on systems and controls that are unable to identify and respond to indicators of harm and financial crime quickly enough.”
Pierce added that operators are expected to boast stable controls that prevent harmful gambling and financial fraud.
The silver lining, according to Pierce, was that QuinnBet has recognized its shortcomings and has taken immediate action to improve the faulty systems, policies, and procedures.
We expect operators to learn from this case and read the public statement to ensure that they do not make the same mistakes. Our key focus is on ensuring that operators meet the standards we expect and, where they fall short, we will take regulatory action where necessary.
John Pierce, director of enforcement, UKGC
The regulatory action against QuinnBet comes shortly after the UKGC issued a fine to Holland Park Leisure.