Spreadex has been hit with another financial penalty from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) for anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility failings. The £2m ($2.7m) fine comes off the back of a compliance assessment into the operator regarding its fixed odds sports betting and online casino products.
issues flagged by the UKGC date back to 2022 and 2023
In addition to the financial penalty, Spreadex will also be subject to an audit from a third party to ensure its controls and procedures are in line with the regulator’s requirements. The issues flagged by the UKGC date back to 2022 and 2023.
The company’s risk assessments and procedures were subpar. In one example, a user deposited £64,000 ($85,216) over a short time period and wasn’t subject to a source of funds check. They then gambled away £50,000 ($66,575) over a few weeks.
Regarding social responsibility, Spreadex’s customer interactions were deemed to be insufficient, with one user hitting their daily deposit limit a dozen times in two weeks and not being subject to any human interactions to see if they were experiencing gambling-related harm.
This isn’t the first time Spreadex has fallen foul of the UKGC for similar reasons, having paid a £1.36m ($1.8m) settlement in 2022.
Talking about the most recent transgressions, UKGC Head of Enforcement John Pierce said that the operator placed too much reliance on customer assurances regarding sources of funds and emphasized that repeated regulatory failings will lead to escalating action.
