Spreadex fined £1.36m for AML and social responsibility breaches
- By: Jamie Bryan
- August 28, 2022
- LikeUnlikeLike
- 1061 Views
Spreadex Ltd, the owner of the spreadex.com financial spread and sports betting platform, has been directed by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) to pay a fine of £1.36 million after an investigation found the company to be in breach of social responsibility and anti money laundering guidelines. The operator is mandated to pay the money to socially responsible causes as part of the settlement with the Commission and in accordance with the body’s “Statement of Principles for Determining Financial Penalties”.
In a public statement, the Commission highlighted a number of failings committed by the operator between January 2020 and May 2021, which are mostly along the lines of lack of due diligence, failure to conduct customer interaction, and failure to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. The Commission stated that the operator breached paragraph 1 of license condition 12.1.1 when it failed to acknowledge and assess all the customer product and geographical risk factors. Additionally, the operator allowed customers to deposit large sums of money without a source of funds (SOF) check or triggering sufficient interaction.
The Commission cited the case of a customer who had an alert after depositing £25,000 but was able to increase their next deposit to £100,000 with only a self-declaration of income and an open-source check. The Commission also cited the case of a player who continued to deposit after providing redacted bank statements when asked for evidence of the source of funds.
READ: Best UK betting sites in 2022
In the aspect of social responsibility, the Commission noted that the operator had financial alerts that were ineffective which allowed “customers to lose significant amounts of money over a short period of time” and exposed vulnerable customers to gambling harm. One such case was a player being allowed to deposit £1.7m and lose £500,000 in just over a month, with no sufficient check or account restriction despite customer interactions.
Speaking on the ruling, Leanne Oxley, UKGC Director of Enforcement and Intelligence, said: “Whilst it is disappointing to see anti-money laundering and social responsibility breaches occur despite our extensive published cases highlighting similar failures, we note the swift and robust action the Licensee took to bring itself back to compliance. We expect similar commitment and engagement across the gambling sector.”
Aside from the £1.36m fine, the operator will also be paying £7,831 to cover the Commission’s costs of investigating the case. However, the regulator noted that Spreadex had a reduced fine because it took the breaches found seriously by going on a five-month self-suspension of all casino activities, among other penitential actions.
This recent fine is little compared to the record £17m fine the regulator gave to Entain over similar failings just over two weeks ago.
You may also like
Join the Betting Planet team!
Are you passionate about sports betting? Sports news writers required TODAY!
Experienced preferred but not essential. (All apps considered).
View Careers at Race MediaTop Online Casinos
Latest Betting News
- Browns @ Broncos NFL Monday betting picks | Week 13
- Jack Draper credits newfound maturity for career-best season
- NZ v England: Latham unfazed by Black Caps’ fielding woes
- South Africa rises to 2nd in WTC after big win against Sri Lanka
- England take command on day three of First Test vs New Zealand
- NFL Sunday Week 13 free preview and betting picks | December 1
- South Africa near victory in Durban Test against Sri Lanka
- La Liga betting tips, prop picks & best odds | Matchday 15
- EPL Matchweek 13 betting picks & odds | Premier League 2024-25
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024 betting preview & free predictions | F1
Casino Guides
- Safest online casino jurisdictions
- How to guides
- How to win at pokies
- How to play online pokies
- PaysafeCard online casino deposits
- MasterCard Online Casinos
- Online Casinos Accepting POLi
- 32Red Casino Review
- All Slots Casino Review
- Boombet Casino review
- Horse racing games at casinos
- Credit card deposits at online casinos
- Films about blackjack
- Live dealer casinos
- How to play live dealer blackjack party
- Online Blackjack
- Top online casinos 2024
- Online casino deposits
- MasterCard Online Casinos
- Online Casinos Accepting POLi
- PaysafeCard online casino deposits
- Online slots
- Playing Pai Gow Poker on the Internet
- Online keno
- Online poker
- Online poker tournament structures
- Real money online roulette 2024
- Online multi-wheel roulette – what is it?
- How to play online scratch cards in 2024
- Sit & Go online poker tournaments
- Skrill e-wallet deposits at online casinos
- Visa online casino deposits
Sports Betting Guides
Casino Games
Deposits & Withdrawals
Football
Basketball
Top Country Betting sites
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Armenia
- Australia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Brazil
- Canada
- Dominican Republic
- Germany
- Ghana
- Grenada
- India
- Indonesia
- Italy
- Kenya
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Ireland
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nigeria
- Norway
- Philippines
- Singapore
- South Africa
- Turkey
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- Vietnam
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe