NetBet Reaches Settlement on £650K Penalty After Missing AML Targets

NetBet has agreed to pay a £650,000 penalty after serious concerns were raised about its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and social responsibility policies. A detailed investigation carried out by the Gambling Commission revealed that NetBet Enterprises, which owns NetBet, fell considerably short of the mark.

The fine will be allocated to socially responsible causes, however, these weren’t disclosed. Apart from receiving a warning over its conduct, the Gambling Commission has ordered NetBet to undergo an independent audit of its policies, so that it implements proper procedures in the future.

Report reveals serious breaches

A thorough investigation pulled up NetBet on several occasions between November 2023 and July 2024, where it failed to meet its obligations as an operator. Among the AML failures flagged were:

• NetBet was over-reliant on financial triggers where customers were able to place bets that were disproportionate to their net income.
• The site failed to identify concerning behaviours among customers, which NetBet deemed to be low risk.
• NetBet’s money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessment omitted key risks, including the management of third-party business relationships and high-stakes gambling.

NetBet also failed to submit accurate information when filing regulatory returns. On the social responsibility front, NetBet didn’t meet the following:

• Not having effective systems in place to identify indicators of harmful gambling.
• Escalated gameplay and rising deposit limits were not tackled efficiently, and it was only realised once a manual review had taken place.

NetBet falls foul again

This isn’t the first time that NetBet has been reprimanded over AML and social responsibility violations. In October 2020, NetBet was hit with a £748,000 fine for not conducting due diligence checks on high-risk customers.

Moreover, it failed to interact with customers when setting deposit limits. The shortcomings identified in the previous report cropped up again in the latest findings.

More betting sites being brought to task

There has been a wave of betting sites hauled up in front of the Gambling Commission this year over their AML failures. Last month, Unibet operator Platinum Gaming Ltd was slapped with a £10 million penalty for not implementing proper AML and safer gambling policies.

In May, Spreadex was forced to pay a £2m fine for breaching AML and social responsibility regulations. It was the second time Spreadex were reprimanded by the Gambling Commission, having previously been ordered to pay a £1.4m settlement in August 2022 for committing the same offences.

There has been a growing, if not worrying, trend of betting operators being fined for AML misdemeanours. Nevertheless, the Gambling Commission has been extra vigilant more recently in ramping up its enforcement of measures, so as to ensure operators don’t step out of line.

How did the Gambling Commission react?

Unsurprisingly, the Gambling Commission wasn't sympathetic towards NetBet. Instead, they were quick to expose NetBet’s shortcomings.

John Pierce, Commission Director of Enforcement, said: “This case highlights the serious consequences of failing to meet anti-money laundering and social responsibility obligations.

“We expect all operators to take note and ensure their systems are not only well-designed, but are working effectively to protect consumers and to keep crime out of gambling.

“The operator is also required to commission an independent audit of its policies, procedures and controls to ensure the necessary improvements they have implemented are properly embedded. Our focus is on ensuring operators meet the standards we expect, and where they fall short, we will intervene.”

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