The Gambling Commission has fined Platinum Gaming Limited £10m following an investigation that revealed serious failures in anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility practices. The operator, responsible for unibet.co.uk and uk.bingo.com, failed to identify and act on clear signs of gambling harm, including substantial losses shortly after account registration and repeated breaches of loss limits. Additionally, its AML procedures were found to be inadequate, with risk assessments overlooking previously blocked accounts linked to money laundering concerns and lacking clarity on due diligence thresholds. This is the second enforcement action against the company, which was fined £2.9m in 2023 for similar breaches. As part of the current penalty, Platinum Gaming must undergo an independent audit and provide regular updates to the Commission to ensure compliance improvements.

The UK Gambling Commission has fined ProgressPlay Limited £1m for significant anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) and social responsibility failings. The operator, which runs 134 websites, failed to conduct an appropriate AML/CTF risk assessment, adopt a risk-based approach or adequately scrutinise customer transactions, including verifying Source of Funds where necessary. ProgressPlay has also received a formal warning and must undergo an independent third-party audit to assess the adequacy of its compliance arrangements. The compliance assessment also identified serious social responsibility breaches, including inadequate systems to monitor customer activity at account opening, a deficient customer interaction policy that did not meet the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice and insufficient processes to evaluate the impact of interventions on customer behaviour.

The UK Gambling Commission has imposed a £2m fine on Spreadex Limited for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and social responsibility failures identified during a July 2023 compliance assessment. The operator must undergo a third-party audit of its AML and safer gambling controls. Breaches included inadequate ML/TF risk assessments, over-reliance on self-reported financial information and insufficient customer interaction protocols. This marks Spreadex's second enforcement action, following a £1.36m settlement in 2022. The violations occurred between September 2022 and November 2023.

The UK Gambling Commission has fined Taichi Tech Limited £170,000 for breaches of licensing conditions, including the use of unfair terms and conditions, and failures in anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility measures. The enforcement action followed a compliance investigation which found that the operator, trading as Fafabet, included a discretionary clause in its bonus terms allowing it to close customer accounts or forfeit winnings without justification—contravening the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice. Additional failings included limited customer due diligence, inadequate responses to high-velocity gambling, and insufficient follow-up where safer gambling concerns were raised. The operator must now undergo a third-party audit of its AML and safer gambling controls.

The Gambling Commission has fined Videoslots Limited £650,000 following an investigation that uncovered Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and social responsibility breaches. The operator, responsible for videoslots.co.uk, mrvegas.com, and megariches.com, is also mandated to undergo an independent third-party audit. Key failures included ineffective deposit limit monitoring, which allowed customers to exceed the £3,000 monthly limit and lose up to £7,500, as well as inadequate AML controls. These shortcomings involved an over-reliance on algorithms that failed to detect high-risk activity, such as the use of digital pre-payment vouchers valued at more than £75,000.

The Gambling Commission has reported that two online gambling businesses, Jumpman Gaming Limited and Progress Play Limited, will pay a total of £675,000 in regulatory settlements after investigations revealed social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures. Jumpan Limited, which runs 243 websites, will pay £500,000, while Progress Play, which runs 201 websites, will pay £175,718 to the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms.

The Gambling Commission has announced that the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling (ABSG) will close following completion of its original remit under the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms. The Commission will establish a new expert group to support the next phase of research funded by the statutory levy.

The Gambling Commission has imposed a £1,407,834 penalty on AG Communications Limited, trading as AspireGlobal, following an investigation that uncovered significant social responsibility (SR) and anti-money laundering (AML) failures. The operator, which manages 58 websites, will direct the settlement funds to socially responsible causes. This marks the second regulatory action against the company, underscoring the necessity for robust AML policies and effective SR measures. The Commission's director of enforcement, John Pierce, highlighted the gravity of these breaches and the need for timely interventions to protect consumers.

The Gambling Commission has imposed a £650,000 financial penalty on NetBet Enterprises Limited, operator of netbet.co.uk, following an investigation that identified anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility failures. The AML failures included over-reliance on financial triggers allowing customers to spend disproportionally in relation to their net income, failure to identify concerning gambling behaviours as high risk, and omission of key risks from money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessments including third-party business relationships and high stakes gambling controls. Social responsibility failures encompassed inadequate customer interaction systems that failed to minimise gambling-related harm and delayed identification of harm indicators such as overnight play and velocity of deposits.

The Gambling Commission has issued a public statement and imposed £4.75 million regulatory settlement against Evolution Malta Holding Limited. This action follows an investigation into the availability of its games on six unlicensed gambling websites, accessible to consumers in Great Britain (GB) between December 2023 and November 2024. The investigation revealed that Evolution Malta Holding Limited’s money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessment failed to identify the two operators it supplied were offering its games to GB consumers without a valid Commission licence. As a result, the operator was found to be in breach of regulations pertaining to the identification and assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing risks, the establishment and maintenance of effective policies, procedures and controls, as well as customer due diligence requirements.

The Gambling Commission has published its fortnightly newsletter, covering four key developments. Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs) will be introduced in a staged approach to identify customers in financial difficulties and reduce reliance on unpopular document checks. Stage one will apply to the largest operators at a £5,000 net deposit threshold in a rolling 24-hour period for customers aged 25 and over (£2,500 for those under the age of 25). The pilot showed that 97% of those spending above threshold levels could be frictionlessly assessed via Credit Reference Agencies with no impact on credit scores. No enforcement action will be taken for FRA failures during early implementation, though all other existing licence requirements remain in force. Licence Condition 18.1.1, requiring non-remote operators to remove non-compliant gaming machines upon written notification from the Commission, shall come into force on 29 July 2026. The third annual Gambling Survey for Great Britain, covering the period between 2023–25, has been published. With around 20,000 respondents per year, it shows a stable participation rate of 47% and a problem gambling prevalence of 2.4%. Matt Losing has been appointed Chair of the Lived Experience Advisory Panel, taking over from Co-Chairs Sue Cox and Leon Green after two years as a panel member.

The Gambling Commission has published the fourth and final report in its series on illegal online gambling, titled ‘Estimating the size of the illegal online gambling market.’ The latest report highlights the methodological challenges of quantifying the market .due to limited reliable data and necessary assumptions, drawing parallels with estimating other illicit activities, such as the illegal tobacco trade. The report notes that while no single market-size estimate has been produced, the Commission’s work has strengthened the evidence base and understanding of consumer behaviour and illegal operator tactics. Findings show varied consumer motivations, a lack of awareness among some users, and no evidence of sustained growth in engagement with illegal sites.