Estonian online betting and gaming operator TonyBet has been fined more than £400,000 by Britain’s Gambling Commission.
TonyBet will pay a £442,750 penalty and receive a warning for failing to have fair and transparent terms for players at its .co.uk website, as well as for anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility failures.
The regulator found that the operator’s terms and conditions stated that TonyBet may request identification documents for ‘all withdrawals’ while not having insisted on those same checks earlier in the business relationship, potentially hampering withdrawals but not deposits.
They also stated that winnings could be confiscated where consumers failed to provide AML documentation within 30 days, and that accounts are considered dormant after six months inactivity, rather than the permissible 12 months.
TonyBet was also found to have failed to identify at-risk customers and failed to interact with customers who may be at risk of experiencing harms associated with gambling.
The company’s AML failings included insufficient risk assessments and failing to employ appropriate policies, procedures and controls to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
“Not only does this case illustrate our drive to clamp down on anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures, but also highlights action we will take against gambling businesses who fail to be fair and open with customers,” said Kay Roberts, executive director of operations at the Gambling Commission.
Alongside the financial penalty and warning, TonyBet must undergo a third-party audit to assess whether it is effectively implementing anti-money laundering and social responsibility requirements.