Lottomart Hit Hard for AML and Social Responsibility Breaches

During an investigation carried out by the commission, Maple International Ventures Limited (owner of Lottomart casino) was found to be falling short of its duties to prevent financial crime and protect players. Their processes to identify gambling harm through customer interaction were unsatisfactory. The company didn’t carry out adequate risk assessments and their controls for detecting duplicate or linked accounts were ineffective.

The compliance assessment, carried out in June 2024, discovered flaws in their systems that allowed one customer to create a second account simply by switching the order of their names. Customers who hadn’t fully completed their identity verification checks were also able to continue making deposits and withdrawals above the thresholds determined by the UKGC.

The Commission initiated a section 116 regulatory review following this assessment and uncovered omissions in Maple International Ventures’ risk assessment procedures between June 2023 and July 2024. Most concerningly, they were not accounting for the serious risks posed by organised crime gangs and mule accounts.

The Commission director of enforcement, John Pierce, said: “The cornerstone of every licensed business must be the proper implementation of effective policies and procedures aimed at making gambling crime-free and safer.”

Their controls for identifying unsafe gambling behaviours, such as “bingeing”, “spiking”, playing overnight, and high-staking following large wins, were deemed insufficient. These faults in their systems pose serious risks to vulnerable players.

“We would advise all operators to read the Maple International Ventures public statement and consider whether their own policies and procedures are both effective and are being successfully implemented.

“This operator is now being held to account for anti-money laundering and social responsibility failings,” Pierce added.

As part of the agreement, £50,000 of the £360,000 settlement will be divested towards funding socially responsible purposes.

As the GC’s new parameters for determining the size of a financial penalty based on the seriousness of the breach come into effect from 10 October, we may see more companies trying to settle any regulatory action to avoid hefty fines.