UKGC punishes BoyleSports for anti-money laundering failings

The UKGC has imposed a £2.8 million fine on BoyleSports for failing to comply to anti money laundering regulations 

The sports betting and casino operator, BoyleSports, has been fined a hefty £2.8 million with additional restrictions on their licence for failing to adhere to money laundering measures set out by the UKGC. This fine comes after BoyleSports, who are an Irish betting company, raised its profile by expanding in the UK market and has subsequently learnt that the UKGC are very strict when it comes to compliance and having the required procedures in place. 

BoyleSport "failed to have an appropriate money laundering risk assessment in place” while its anti-money laundering policies and procedures were not up to UKGC standard, which resulted in the Irish betting operator failing to comply with money laundering regulations. 

In addition to the imposed fines and licence restrictions, the UKGC has ordered BoyleSports to appoint a qualified Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) who will be required to attend annual refresher training. The new MLRO will need to provide evidence to the UKGC that they are attending the refresher course while all BoyleSports’ senior staff and Personal Management Licence (PML) are requested to participate in outsourced AML training. 

Richard Watson, the UKGC executive director, was unwilling to provide further details regarding BoyleSport's situation and why they were under investigation by the UKGC. Watson, however, made it clear in a very brief statement that it is extremely important for operators to implement proper AML practices, otherwise the UKGC will not hesitate to take action against those operators who fail to do so. BoyleSport's fine is a reflection of UKGC's current clamp down on operators who are failing to meet the required standards set out by the Commission. This can be clearly seen as fines imposed on UKGC's licensees have increased to over 50% from the year before.

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