Corbett Bookmakers, a British retail betting firm, has been hit with enforcement action by the country’s gaming regulator, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).
The Commission found that the firm had failed to meet the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) requirements of its UK gaming licence, with customers staking and losing large sums of money at some of its premises without adequate KYC checks taking place.
In addition, the UKGC stated that Corbett Bookmakers’ AML and CTF risk assessment had ‘failed to consider the full scope of customer, product geographic and payment risks’, as reported by SBC News
John Pierce, Commission Director of Enforcement, said: “This operator has failed to adhere to vital regulations designed to make gambling safer and free from criminal activity.
“As a result, it will not only pay a significant fine but also undergo a rigorous audit to ensure full compliance with AML and safer gambling measures.”
Gambling Commission remains steadfast in enforcing compliance
A reasonably sized independent bookmaker – independent meaning not owned by one of the UK’s larger often publicly listed betting companies like Entain, Flutter or 888. Corbett runs 36 shops, with most in Wales but a number also in England, particularly in the North West.
The UKGC’s enforcement action against the firm shows that the regulator is still not shying away from penalising firms for AML, CTF or KYC infractions, regardless of the company’s size and annual turnover.
Notable penalties have been issued in recent years to some of the UK’s largest betting firms for similar licence breaches – the aforementioned Entain was hit with a £17m charge in 2022 and William a £19.2m one in 2023, both breaking records.
In the context of regulatory reform in the UK and increased public and political pressure on the industry, the UKGC has become very assertive in recent years around player protection and AML.
The Gambling Act review notably introduced the concept of affordability checks, known as ‘finance risk checks’. These will be used to assess a customer’s financial sustainability to gamble, with plans to include Open Banking in the wider solution.
In Corbett Bookmaker’s case, as well as the £600k charge the company will also be subject to a third party audit of its AML and safer gambling policies, procedures and controls.
“In addition to the remedial actions already taken, we expect the operator to swiftly and fully implement the audit recommendations, demonstrating clear and measurable improvements in both policy and practice,” the UKGC’s Pierce concluded.
“Failure to do so will prompt our compliance team to reassess the situation and take further action as necessary.”
