QuinnBet Ordered To Pay UKGC £609,000 For Customer Protection Violations

QuinnBet has agreed to pay £609,104 to the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) for a string of customer protection failures. The Gibraltar-based online betting company, which counts the UK among its core markets, missed several anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility requirements.

The Commission’s compliance review of QuinnBet was extensive, covering the period March 2023 to August 2025. As part of the financial penalty, the regulatory settlement included a disgorgement payment of £193,118, and contributions will be made to the Commission’s investigation costs.

What social responsibility problems were flagged?

Following a meticulous inquiry, the Commission revealed that QuinnBet wasn’t quick enough to detect gambling harm. The report flagged the following concerns:

• Utilising a manual process which allowed those aged 18-24 to spend more than the deposit limits set up for that age group.
• Having ineffective controls to prohibit high-velocity gambling sessions. In one instance, a customer placed 4,800 bets one day and 7,000 the next without triggering any warnings.
• Another customer, following a large win, was able to place a £215,000 bet consisting of multiple wagers of over £5,000, but this activity went unnoticed until the following day’s report.
• Not ensuring that all customers who met the relevant threshold underwent a light touch financial vulnerability check.

Detailing the AML failures

Aside from the social responsibility deficiencies, there were a series of AML shortcomings that were exposed. Among the key findings highlighted were:

• Having insufficient controls to act promptly to “identify and mitigate the risk posed by customers who were displaying disproportionate spend”. In one case, a customer’s payslips showed monthly earnings of around £2,000, but they deposited and lost £9,000 within four days.
• Some customers could deposit significant funds without verifying the legitimacy of Source of Funds (SoF). One customer deposited around £120,000 and withdrew £111,000 in less than three months without declaring the SoF.
• Delays were experienced with submitting Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), which resulted in 194 customers being able to unintentionally exceed deposit limits.

Parallels with Betfred

To a certain extent, the QuinnBet case echoes parallels with the fine dished out to Betfred. In June, Betfred was slapped with a £900,000 penalty for a string of social responsibility failures, and like QuinnBet, they didn’t have sufficient controls in place to identify high-risk customers.

Indeed, the Betfred report revealed instances where a player lost £17,900 in the space of 24 hours, but no additional support was offered.

However, unlike Betfred, a mitigating factor for QuinnBet was that they had not previously been subject to enforcement action. In addition, QuinnBet co-operated with the investigation and accepted its failings early on.

UKGC repeats the same message

Given the recent misdemeanours of some online betting sites, the UKGC has taken a tough line. In doing so, it has repeated its time-old message of operators being aware of their duties and obligations to their customers, so they don’t fall foul of the mark.

John Pierce, Commission Director of Enforcement, said:

“This case highlights the serious consequences of relying on systems and controls that are unable to identify and respond to indicators of harm and financial crime quickly enough.

“We expect operators to learn from this case and read the public statement to ensure they do not make the same mistakes. Our key focus is on ensuring that operators meet the standards we expect, and, where they fall short, we will take regulatory action where necessary.”