Ladbrokes Coral hit with £5.9 million fine by UKGC

UK gaming operator Ladbrokes Coral recently earned a distinction that they’d likely rather not have even heard about. This week the company was hit with a the largest fine ever issued by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). The £5.9 million fine ($7.1 million USD) was issued after what Commission officials have referred to as “systematic failures” in the company’s compliance with UK gaming laws.
Ladbrokes Coral’s failings mainly centered on what the UKGC refers to as “social responsibilities”, which mainly entails preventing problem gamblers from accessing the company’s sites and exercising proper compliance to prevent money laundering. Operators serving the UK public are responsible for sussing out problem gamblers, mainly by monitoring the amount of money they’re spending and the frequency with which they are logging into their accounts. Specific incidents ranged from a player who logged in his account 10 times a day and lost £64,000 ($77,000 USD) in a single month, to a player who £98,000 ($119,000 USD) over two years and had hundreds of deposit requests declined for lack of funds.
UKGC executive director, Richard Watson described the situation to the UK Guardian saying, “These were systemic failings at a large operator, which resulted in consumers being harmed and stolen money flowing though the business and this is unacceptable.”
Ladbrokes Coral is currently owned by GVC and the violations took place before the purchase occurred in 2017. GVC CEO Kenny Alexander told the Guardian, “These historical failings were unacceptable and since the acquisition I have overseen a systematic review of the enlarged group’s player protection procedures and the individuals responsible for these problems have exited the business.”
He went on to point out that GVC has increased the compliance staff at Ladbrokes five fold since taking over the company.