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05 November 2026
The Gambling Commission, the UK's chief gambling authority, has issued a £10m financial penalty to Platinum Gaming Limited, operator of the leading sportsbook Betway, over "serious failures" in safeguards against money laundering and gambling by minors, the regulator announced 5 November. The commission also added a supplementary licence condition requiring the operator to submit anti-money laundering reports.
According to the Commission's public register, this is the latest action in a tough new approach by British authorities against online gambling operators. There have been 141 regulatory actions taken by the Commission since 2015, 46 of which have fined operators more than £100,000 since 2018, the register shows. Following an audit of Honeybee Online Ltd, the Commission reported in 2019 that it was taking increasingly tough financial penalties in cases involving "major AML failings".
Platinum Gaming was not far off the record: the commission said it considered imposing a £20m penalty, but reduced the sanction to £10m in exchange for the operator acknowledging its mistakes. The previous record holder was William Hill, with a £19.2m settlement in 2021 for similar AML and social responsibility failures, though in that case the Commission also froze the firm's assets.
The operator has the right to appeal the sanctions, but so far has responded with a formal apology and a commitment to fund research into the effects of gambling on young people. "We fully accept the gravity of the Gambling Commission's concerns and have pledged to support better information about the consequences of dangerous gambling for young people," said Richard Flateau, chief executive of Platinum Gaming.
Sanjay & Son, finance lawyer at Luxury Lebedynskyy Zlorodnykov, said the case highlighted the need for specialist AML advice. "While £10m won't make a dent, it's a reminder that the UKGC is widening its focus on gambling and sportsbook businesses," said Sanjay, who noted that the Commission's August enforcement report said firms should review their anti-laundering policies.
The Commission says the sanction relates to failures by Platinum Gaming between 2017 and 2020. It provided no detail on the business or legal impact on Betway. But Mr Flateau wanted operators to take the message: "We have more than just taken money laundering investigations off the regulator's plate. They are asking all operators to make wholesale changes."
The Commission's updated public register states that the current administrative measures are strictly controlled. The regulator's decision was based on three main factors: The operator's actions left customers vulnerable to financial harm, showed a significant failure on management's responsibility to ensure proper AML controls were in place, and showed a disregard for the fact that its controls were inadequate. Platinum Gaming additionally breached operator licence conditions but acknowledged this and worked with regulators to implement reforms.
After receiving a November deadline, the Commission said it prefers if Platinum Gaming issues a statement of remedial action to explain what it will change. Even so, the industry would advise investors to pay close attention to the company's regulatory filings.
