Online gambling business TonyBet fined £442,750

18 January 2023

TonyBet will pay a £442,750 penalty and receive a warning for failing to have fair and transparent terms, and for failing to follow social responsibility and anti-money laundering rules.

The operator – which operates tonybet.co.uk – will also have to undergo a third-party audit to assess whether it is effectively implementing anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility requirements.

Unfair terms published on TonyBet’s website included stating:

• TonyBet may request identification documents for ‘all withdrawals’ while not having insisted on those same checks earlier in the business relationship, potentially hampering withdrawals but not deposits
• winnings could be confiscated where consumers failed to provide AML documentation within 30 days
• accounts are considered dormant after six months inactivity, when accounts can only be considered dormant after 12 months inactivity. 

Social responsibility failures included failing to identify customers who may be at risk of experiencing harms associated with gambling, and failing to interact with customers who may be at risk of experiencing harms associated with gambling.

Anti-money laundering failures included failing to conduct adequate risk assessments of the business being used for money laundering and terrorist financing, and failing to ensure they have appropriate policies, procedures and controls to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.

Kay Roberts, Executive Director of Operations, said: “Not only does this case illustrate our drive to clamp down on anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures, but also highlights action we will take against gambling businesses who fail to be fair and open with customers.”

UK Gambling Commission Press Release

Tonybet

Account number

39126

Head office address

Parnu mnt 31-53,
Tallinn, 10119, Estonia

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Regulatory actions

Decision date: 3 January 2023

Outcomes: Conditions attached to the licence, Financial penalty and Warning

Details of action

Following a review of the operating licence undertaken against TonyBet (“the Licensee”), the Commission found that the Licensee breached: 

1. Licence Condition 7.1.1 (Fair and Transparent Terms and Practices) 
2. Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Licence Condition 12.1.1 (Anti-money laundering – Prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing) 
3. Paragraph 1 of Licence Condition 12.1.2 (AML – Measures for operators based in foreign jurisdictions) 
4. Licence Condition 15.2.16 (Failure to report a Key Event) 
5. Social Responsibility Code of Practice 3.4.1, issued under section 24 of the Gambling Act 2005, so is to be treated as a licence condition (customer interaction

In line with the Commission’s Licensing, compliance and enforcement policy statement, the Indicative sanctions guidance and the Statement of principles for determining financial penalties, the Commission has decided to: 

1. Impose a financial penalty of £442,750 under section 121(1) of the Act, in respect of breaches identified at findings 1,2,3 and 5 above. 
2. Issue the Licensee with a warning under section 117(1)(a) of the Act in respect of all of the breaches listed. 
3. Attach an additional condition to the operator’s licence under Section 117 (1) (b) of the Act, in respect of breaches 1, 2, 3 and 5 above. 

The Commission has noted the Licensee’s ongoing improvements programme and the Licensee’s cooperation throughout.