UK regulator fines Unibet owner £10 million
Table of contents
- Unibet and Bingo.com fined for social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) failures
- Second enforcement action against Platinum Gaming following £2.9 million penalty in 2023
- Company must undergo independent audit and implement enhanced compliance measures
The UK Gambling Commission has imposed a £10 million penalty on Platinum Gaming Limited, the operator behind Unibet and Bingo.com, following an investigation that revealed serious social responsibility and anti-money laundering breaches.
This marks the second major enforcement action against Platinum Gaming. The company previously faced a £2.9 million fine in 2023 for similar failings, making the latest penalty part of a pattern of regulatory non-compliance.
The Commission identified multiple instances where the operator failed to protect vulnerable customers and implement proper anti-money laundering controls.
Customer protection failures
The investigation uncovered several instances where Platinum Gaming’s customer interaction systems failed to identify players at risk of harm.
- One customer lost £5,000 within 24 hours of registration and went on to lose more than £16,000 in less than three months without appropriate intervention.
- Another consumer lost over £31,000 within nine months, hit their monthly loss limit on six occasions, and demonstrated markers of harm associated with high velocity gambling without any interaction from the operator.
- The Commission also found that one customer exceeded their £2,500 loss limit within 16 minutes of registering their account, with the operator failing to identify this as potential binge gambling.
- During one 23-day period, a customer staked £73,000 and lost £4,100 without any interaction from Platinum Gaming.
AML system gaps
The enforcement action revealed substantial weaknesses in the company’s anti-money laundering framework.
The operator’s risk assessment failed to account for customers whose accounts had been previously closed due to money laundering or terrorist funding concerns before 2023, allowing some blocked customers to open new accounts and continue gambling.
The AML policy lacked clarity around customer due-diligence measures and how risk levels determined the extent of checks required. Despite covering high-risk factors in their risk assessment, the company failed to consider elements such as high-risk occupations, high transaction levels, and significant losses when conducting customer reviews.
Regulatory response
“The failings at Platinum Gaming are particularly disappointing,” said John Pierce, Commission Director of Enforcement.
“The case revealed serious shortcomings in customer interaction systems, including failures to identify and act on clear markers of harm. These included consumers losing thousands within hours or days of registration, repeatedly breaching loss limits, and exhibiting patterns of binge and high-velocity gambling without appropriate intervention,” Pierce added.
Beyond the financial penalty, Platinum Gaming must undergo a third-party audit to ensure effective implementation of anti-money laundering and safer gambling policies. The company also received an official warning attached to its licence.
“Senior leaders must take ownership of compliance outcomes and ensure lessons are embedded across the organisation, supported by structured reporting and board level oversight – and further regulatory activity will remain a possibility,” Pierce warned.
The penalty comes as the UK Gambling Commission strengthens its enforcement approach, with new financial penalty guidelines taking effect from 10 October 2025 that will introduce tiered fines based on operator revenue.
This case demonstrates the regulator’s continued focus on protecting vulnerable consumers and maintaining industry standards, particularly for repeat offenders who fail to learn from previous enforcement actions.
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