The UK Gambling Commission has fined gambling company Spreadex Limited £2 million (€2.4 million). The company behind the online gambling site Spreadex.com received the fine for shortcomings in the area of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and social responsibility.
In July 2023, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) conducted a compliance assessment at the provider of online casino games and sports betting. This revealed several shortcomings in the anti-money laundering policy at Spreadex.com, while it also failed in its social responsibility.
In terms of social responsibility, the gambling company erred by barely interacting with a player who reached his daily deposit limit of £3,340 twelve times in fourteen days. In the end, the player only saw a pop-up four times, while no human interaction was carried out.
The anti-money laundering policy of Spreadex Limited, operator of Spreadex.com, also did not meet the requirements of the UKGC. According to the regulator, the risk assessment regarding money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) did not take into account important customer, product, geographic and payment risks.
The online casino also did not request proof of funds when a player deposited £64,000 within a short period of time. As a result, the player was able to lose an amount of £50,000 within a month, according to the regulator in the announcement.
The violations of Spreadex Limited took place between September 2022 and November 2023.
Second fine
This is the second time that the UKGC has imposed a fine on Spreadex Limited. In 2022, Spreadex paid an amount of £1.36 million after reaching a settlement for shortcomings in the fight against money laundering and social responsibilities.
John Pierce, head of enforcement at the Commission, responded as follows to the fine of Spreadex Limited:
“The conclusion of this case marks the second time Spreadex Limited has been subject to enforcement action. Non-compliance with anti-money laundering standards, delays in necessary interventions and weaknesses in social responsibility measures were unacceptable.”
John Pierce, UKGC
He further added that the provider relied too much on the customer’s assurance about the origin of the funds, instead of independent evidence:
“Operators must not only implement and maintain solid anti-money laundering policies, procedures and controls, but also respond quickly to indications of suspicious activity.”
John Pierce, UKGC
