Paddy Power Betfair Fined £2.2 Million By UKGC

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has fined Paddy Power Betfair £2.2 million in relation to stolen money being used to gamble on their website and also in failings to protect problem gamblers.

According to the UKGC there were “significant amounts of stolen money flowing through their exchange,” which the regulator said was “simply not acceptable”.

The Commission said that the company failed to “adequately interact with customers” who were showing signs of problem gambling.

“These failings all stem from one simple principle – operators must know their customer,” said Richard Watson, Gambling Commission executive director.

“If they know their customer and ask the right questions then they place themselves in a strong position to meet their anti-money laundering and social responsibility obligations.”

Part of the £1.7 million of the fine will go to GambleAware who do research, education and treatment in reducing gambling related problems.

Paddy Power Betfair chief executive Peter Jackson said: “We have a responsibility to intervene when our customers show signs of problem gambling. In these five cases our interventions were not effective and we are very sorry that this occurred.

“In recent years, we have invested in an extensive programme of work to strengthen our resources and systems in responsible gambling and customer protection. We are encouraged that the Gambling Commission has recognised significant improvement since the time of these cases in 2016.”