Unibet operator fined £10 million for social responsibility failures

Platinum Gaming – which operates unibet.co.uk and uk.bingo.com – has been fined £10 million for anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility failings, the Gambling Commission said.

Social responsibility failures included allowing a player to lose £5,000 within 24 hours of registration and go on to lose more than £16,000 in less than three months.

The firm also failed to interact with a customer who lost more than £31,000 within nine months and hit their monthly loss limit on six occasions, and another who exceeded their £2,500 loss limit within 16 minutes of registering their account as potentially being at risk of harm.

The firm will also have to undergo a third-party audit to ensure it is effectively applying its AML and safer gambling procedures, the Gambling Commission said.

It is the second round of enforcement action for Platinum Gaming, after it was fined £2.9 million in 2023 – again for social responsibility and AMP failures.

The Gambling Commission’s director of enforcement John Pierce said: “While industry wide progress has been made in reducing unchecked high spending, the failings at Platinum Gaming are particularly disappointing.

“The case revealed serious shortcomings in customer interaction systems, including failures to identify and act on clear markers of harm.

“These included consumers losing thousands within hours or days of registration, repeatedly breaching loss limits, and exhibiting patterns of binge and high-velocity gambling without appropriate intervention.”

He added: “Senior leaders must take ownership of compliance outcomes and ensure lessons are embedded across the organisation, supported by structured reporting and board level oversight – and further regulatory activity will remain a possibility.”

FDJ United, which now owns Platinum Gaming, said in a statement: “As a result of the findings by the UK Gambling Commission, Platinum Gaming has implemented new software solutions and risk management frameworks across anti-money laundering and safer gambling, providing a detailed knowledge of customer risk allowing for near real-time automated alerts and customer interventions.

“FDJ United remains committed to the highest compliance standards and player protection policies. As part of this, the Group will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of and improve its processes and tools to meet these standards.

“Senior leadership have safer gambling and anti-money laundering as a top priority in operational discussions, as well as a priority in the Group’s strategic agenda. FDJ United will continue to work closely with the UK Gambling Commission on this matter and remain confident that the external review will show necessary steps have been taken.”