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The United Kingdom Gambling Commission has slapped Admiral Casino’s parent company, Greentube Alderney, with a £1.0 million fine after investigations revealed that the company had breached several anti-money laundering and social responsibility regulations.
The commission announced the ruling today (Jan. 9) and marked its first enforcement action against an operator since April 2024. The breaches occurred between September 2022 and June 2023 and involved violations of two Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice(LCCP). Specifically, Greentube failed to adhere to Paragraph 3 of Licence Condition (LC) 12.1.1, which pertains to AML controls, and paragraphs 1 and 8 of Social Responsibility Code Provision (SRCP) 3.4.3, which focus on remote customer interaction.
All flagged issues were related to activities on the Greentube-operated gaming site AdmiralCasino.co.uk. The regulator also noted that Greentube accepted its failings early in the process and fully complied with the investigation, leading to a settlement agreement that resulted in the £1 Million fine.
John Pierce, the director of enforcement for the Gambling Commission, said, “This case arose from a follow-up compliance assessment designed to ensure the operator had continued to apply lessons learned from previous regulatory action.
“While we noted that the business had made significant general improvements, further regulatory breaches were still identified. The operator was subsequently required to swiftly put in place an effective action plan designed to remedy all of the identified failings.
Greentube’s Regulatory Failures in RG and AML Compliance
The UKGC highlighted significant failures in Greentube’s anti-money laundering(AML) and social responsibility(RG) practices, which it said placed the safety and well-being of its customers at great risk.
Regarding AML compliance, the regulator noted that Greentube did not consistently scrutinize customer information to identify potential money laundering or terrorist financing risks. For instance, one customer submitted a bank statement that revealed a series of complex transactions, including over £100,000 being moved in and out of the account. The statement was not even reviewed until four months later, after the player had already made several big deposits.
The Commission also pointed out that Greentube failed to put in place proper know-your-customer checks and, in one instance, allowed a convicted drug dealer to register an account. It also allowed a player employed as a finance manager to continue betting on the platform without properly assessing the increased risks associated with their occupation.
The regulator also accused Greentube of failing to use its controls effectively to identify ‘vulnerability indicators’ among players. In one notable case, a customer provided a bank statement with negative balances and transactions to other gaming sites. Yet, they were allowed to register and deposit £4,000 over a period of four months.
Greentube Suffers Second Ruling in Four Years
Greentube is no stranger to regulatory fines. In December 2021, the operator was fined £685,000 after investigations in 2020 uncovered significant shortcomings in its anti-money laundering (AML) and safer gambling practices. This financial penalty was allocated to support the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms and to cover the Commission’s investigative costs.
Once again, the financial penalty will be directed towards social responsibility causes. The regulator also praised Greentube’s cooperation throughout the case and said that the operator already has plans to remedy the issues.
The director of enforcement also said that the Commission would continue to monitor Greentube and other operators to ensure they met regulatory standards. Pierce added, “We want to remind all operators that any business found to breach rules designed to keep gambling safe and free from crime for a second time should expect increasingly stringent enforcement action.
“Any failure to uphold anti-money laundering standards is unacceptable, and today’s action reflects the gravity of the breaches identified.
“We will continue to monitor this operator to ensure they consistently meet the required regulatory standards.”
Source: iGamingBusiness
