Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited is being hit with a £2.87 million fine ($3.06 million USD) for social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) failings at Betfred and Oddsking.com. The fine is one of the largest the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has issued in quite some time, and shows that the regulator is back in business after the entirety of England paused to honor the death of Queen Elizabeth.
According a report on the UKGC website, there were numerous times when Petfre failed to notice players who were losing huge amounts in very short times, and set standards for intervention too high to be practical.
One instance that the UKGC cited involved a new player who was allowed to lose £70,000 ($74,600 USD) just ten hours after setting up an account.
Another example involved a player who deposited £320,000 ($341,000 USD) and lost £69,000 over the course of four months. That customer was only contacted by Petfre once during that period.
UKGC Commissioners put the blame for Petfre’s failings on both a lack of employee training and limited controls on its social responsibility policies.
Leanne Oxley, Gambling Commission Director of Enforcement and Intelligence did not hold back in her admonition of Petfre saying, This is a further example of us taking action to investigate and sanction alarming failures.
“We expect this gambling business and all other licensees to review this case and look closely to see if they need to make further improvements to demonstrate active compliance.
“Where standards do not improve, tougher enforcement will follow.”
Petfre was also issued an official warning on its license from the UKGC.