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Aspire Global Firm AG Communications was hit by the Gambing Commission with a £ 1.4m fine for ‘completely unacceptable’ failures to step in and protect customers who are at risk and not to comply with money laundering.
The commission said AG communication, which trades as Aspire Global and runs 58 websites, does not have the right systems in place to stop customers in a short time to gamble thousands of pounds.
It is said that the group did not act fast enough, despite the fact that one customer lost £ 6,000 within 48 hours, and only called the client when the daily loss limit of £ 5,000 was reached.
Another customer was able to lose £ 7,000 in just over four hours in the early hours of the morning after a system error did not prevent them from falling above the back stop, according to the commission.
One client was also able to open a significant number of gambling accounts, despite the fact that they had previously excluded.
The commission said the firm did not meet the most important money laundering standards.
This is the second time that AG Communications has faced regulatory actions over the past few years, after paying £ 237,600 in 2022 for failures against money laundering.
John Pierce, director of enforcement at the Gambling Commission, said: “The failure to maintain standards for money laundering, delays in the necessary interventions and shortcomings in social responsibility measures are completely unacceptable.”
He added: “It is essential that operators not only implement and maintain a robust counter-laundering policy, procedures and controls, but also act quickly and decisively in response to any indications of suspicious activities.
“Effective social responsibility measures must be in place at all times to ensure that consumers identified as a risk receive on time and appropriate intervention.
“This case stands as a clear warning to all operators that repeated regulatory failures will lead to increasing strict maintenance action.”
AG -communication will pay the money to socially responsible causes as part of the settlement.
