Bookmakers: Regulation

(asked on 6th March 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Gambling Commission is taking to ensure bookmakers do not breach anti-money laundering and social responsibility requirements.


Answered by
Tracey Crouch Portrait
Tracey Crouch
This question was answered on 14th March 2018

All gambling operators have duties to prevent money laundering under the Gambling Act 2005, Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice. Any operators selling services into the British market must be licensed by the Commission, and the licence conditions require operators to assess the money laundering risks to their business and to have controls in place to mitigate them. Operators must also comply with social responsibility and customer interaction requirements to protect vulnerable people.

The Commission conducts suitability checks on the business, all persons relevant to the business and on key management personnel, and has powers to revoke or suspend licences, attach individual conditions to licences and/or impose a financial penalty in the case of failings. The Commission also has powers to launch criminal investigations and bring criminal proceedings against companies and individuals. The Government considers that these powers are sufficient to enforce bookmakers’ compliance with anti-money laundering and social responsibility obligations.

In February 2018 a Gambling Commission investigation into William Hill resulted in a £6.2m penalty package for breaches of anti-money laundering and social responsibility regulations. As part of the regulatory settlement, the Gambling Commission has instructed William Hill to appoint external auditors to review its anti-money laundering and social responsibility measures, and to share learning with the wider industry.

In 2016 the Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation, which is still ongoing, into online gambling companies’ compliance with consumer protection law. Information on this work can be found on the CMA website: https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/online-gambling#case-launch. In February 2018 the CMA launched a merger investigation into the proposed acquisition by GVC Holdings plc of Ladbrokes Coral Group plc. Information on this investigation can be found at

https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/gvc-holdings-ladbrokes-coral-group-merger-inquiry

As a matter of policy, the Gambling Commission does not provide information on ongoing investigations. The outcomes of the Gambling Commission’s enforcement work are published on its website.

The Gambling Commission will continue to take robust and effective action where gambling companies fail to meet their obligations. Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Gambling Commission on a range of issues.

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