The Gambling Commission has fined ProgressPlay Limited £1m following a compliance assessment that identified failures in anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility. The operator, which manages 134 websites, has also received a formal warning and will undergo a third-party audit to ensure its controls are brought up to standard.
The Commission found ProgressPlay had not conducted a sufficient risk assessment for money laundering and terrorist financing, nor had it applied adequate controls to mitigate these risks. Failures included not taking a risk-based approach to AML, and not adequately scrutinising customer transactions or verifying source of funds to ensure activity matched customer profiles.
Social responsibility shortcomings were also identified, with the regulator noting insufficient systems to monitor customer activity at account opening, meaning early signs of gambling-related harm could be missed. The operator’s customer interaction policy did not meet requirements set out in the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, and processes to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions were deemed inadequate.
This marks the second enforcement action against ProgressPlay, which paid £175,718 in 2022 for similar AML and social responsibility failings. The latest penalty underlines the Gambling Commission’s continued focus on operator compliance within the igaming sector.
John Pierce, Director of Enforcement and Intelligence, said: “Gambling businesses must have robust policies and procedures in place to protect consumers and ensure appropriate anti-money laundering controls are maintained. These measures must be actively implemented and regularly tested to confirm their effectiveness.
“This case marks the second time ProgressPlay Limited has been subject to enforcement action by the Gambling Commission. Its failure to meet AML obligations, along with the gaps identified in its social responsibility processes, are unacceptable.
“As part of the regulatory outcome, ProgressPlay is now required to undergo an independent third-party audit to assess the adequacy of its compliance arrangements across these areas.
“Operators should be in no doubt: repeated regulatory breaches will result in increasingly severe enforcement action.
“We urge all operators to examine the failings identified in this case and take proactive steps to strengthen their own systems and controls.”
