Kindred Group Brands Fined £7.1m by UK Gambling Commission
32Red and Platinum Gaming, two brands owned by the Kindred Group, have been fined a combined £7.1m by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC). The fines were for a string of social responsibility and money laundering failings.
A Number of Social Responsibility Failings
The fines were handed out following an investigation by the Gambling Commission into the operator’s activities. They were split between the two brands. 32Red, which runs the popular 32Red.com, was handed a £4.2m fine, while Platinum Gaming, which operates 10Bet, a popular sportsbook and top UK casino site, was fined £2.9m.
The investigation noted several social responsibility failings across the brands. One such failing was 32Red not prompting earlier identification of at-risk customers. There was not enough early intervention from the operator. In one example, the Commission highlighted a player that had lost £36,000 over a period of seven days. The Commission did note that 32Red had held and logged conversations with players. However, these were not deemed to be substantial.
Lack of Detailed Checks
It noted that the operator should not have just accepted assurances from the player regarding their financial status. This was also linked to some anti-money laundering failings from the operator, with 32Red allowing players to continue depositing funds while financial checks were taking place. The operator’s procedure states that players would not be able to complete deposits when checks were being verified.
One specific example saw a player able to deposit £16,280 and lose over half of it despite their account not meeting a financial check deadline. The account was only blocked two weeks after this.
Similar findings were made at Platinum Gaming. The operator was deemed not to have effective policies for tracking the use of multiple accounts. It found that players who had self-excluded were still able to register and play. It also said that it failed to identify players that were potentially at risk. It also said that the anti-money laundering processes and checks at Platinum Gaming were not up to standard.
An Example for all Operators
When the investigation was concluded, 32Red was found to be in breach of multiple licensing rules. The majority of these were around anti-money laundering and social responsibility. Platinum Gaming was also found to have breached many of the same licensing conditions.
Kay Roberts, the Commission executive director, spoke about the genes. They said that the fines highlighted procedures being overlooked by the operators and said that this investigation and the subsequent fines should act as an example to other operators in the UK. They finished by emphasising the need for operators to take care of their customers at all times.
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