The UK Gambling Commission announced that online gaming business Greentube Alderney Limited, trading as Admiral Casino, will pay a £1 million ($1.2 million) settlement over social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures.
The Commission stated that the payment would be made in lieu of a financial penalty in a settlement agreement it made with the operator. Greentube accepted the failings at an early stage and complied with the investigation throughout. All issues flagged related to activity on the Greentube-operated gaming site AdmiralCasino.co.uk.
According to the regulator, Greentube did not fully implement its own policy aimed at ensuring customer limits are based on regular, sustainable income – as opposed to one-off or irregular forms of income. Additionally, the operator did not fully implement processes aimed at ensuring documents customers supplied were genuine.
Greentube also did not fully implement its controls to identify indicators of vulnerability or potential harm in a timely manner. One customer supplied a bank statement as proof of address that had a negative opening and closing balance and included numerous transactions to another gambling operator, but the information was not reviewed or escalated until the customer had deposited £4,000 over four months.
Greentube Alderney Ltd will pay £1 million for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures.
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As for anti-money laundering failures, these included not always scrutinizing information to identify possible money laundering or terrorist financing risks. One customer provided a bank statement showing complex and unusual transactions – including over £100,000 being transferred in and out of the account and a negative closing balance – yet the statement was only scrutinized and escalated four months later.
Meanwhile, the Commission said Greentube did not adhere to its ‘recycled winnings’ policy, which monitors winnings that are withdrawn and redeposited to ensure players are not spending beyond their means. After a large win and withdrawal, one user was allowed to continue depositing funds via different payment methods after a specified recycled winnings period without Greentube requesting the source of funds information. In total, over £70,000 was deposited.
According to the Commission, Greentube did not always follow its policy regarding what it refers to as “risky occupations”. One player worked as a finance manager but this was not recognised and no steps were taken to mitigate possible increased risks.
Also in relation to AML, Greentube was ruled to not always investigate users linked to other accounts. In one example, a player who had the same address and surname as another user was not flagged. The other account was held by a blocked customer with police convictions for the supply of class-A drugs.
This is the second time Greentube has faced regulatory action. In 2021, the operator paid out £685,000 after a Commission investigation revealed social responsibility and money laundering failures.
John Pierce
John Pierce, Commission Director of Enforcement, 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.”
The Director reminded 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. He further noted that any failure to uphold anti-money laundering standards is unacceptable.
“We will continue to monitor this operator to ensure they consistently meet the required regulatory standards,” Pierce concluded.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2025/01/09/91261-ukgc-orders-greentube-to-pay-12m-over-social-responsibility-aml-failures
