By Vish Gain for AMLi
BETTING FIRM Boylesports has been fined £2.8million (€3.14 million) by UK regulators for failing a money laundering risk-assessment, the Irish Times reported Wednesday.
Following the investigation led by the UK Gambling Commission, the company Boylesports Enterprise was found to be in breach of British AML regulations and fined along with added conditions to its license.
The Commission said the company failed to abide by anti-money laundering laws in two of its websites, adding that one of the conditions of the licence was appointing a qualified money laundering reporting office with a ‘personal management licence’ with yearly refresher training.
However, the Irish Times reports that the company already has a qualified AML expert who was appointed a year ago.
The required outsourced training also extends to personal management licence holders, senior management and key control staff.
Accepting the Commission’s view that the company needed to review its AML efforts, Boylesports said in a statement acknowledged the findings and co-operated with the investigation, adding that compliance and governance were “at the centre of its operating principles.”
Executive director of the UK Gambling Commission Richard Watson told the Irish Times that it was vital for all gambling businesses to have effective money laundering policies and procedures.
“As part of our ongoing drive to raise standards, we will continue to take tough action against operators who do not,” he said.
Boylesports, headquartered in the Irish city of Dundalk, is Ireland’s largest independent bookmaker and has over 300 branches across Ireland and the UK. It entered the UK betting shop market in 2019 after acquiring British bookmaker Wilf Gilbert.
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