Fines on gambling firms rocket to £18m

FINES against gambling firms rose from £1.6million to £18million in a year as the regulator cracked down on money laundering, misleading advertising and failure to help addicts.

Last year the Gambling Commission warned that it would be getting tougher.

Yesterday’s Enforcement Report, which summarises its investigations, shows that online betting firm 888 was given a record £7.8million fine for failing to protect vulnerable customers, while William Hill was slapped with a £6.2million penalty for breaching anti-money laundering regulations, after allowing customers with links to crime to open accounts.

Neil McArthur, who was appointed chief executive of the Gambling Commission earlier this year, said: ‘This is a call to action to the leaders of operators to set the tone from the top, to lead a culture of compliance that puts doing the right thing for customers first, and to strive to continuously raise standards.’