The UK Gambling Commission regulatory body has identified three areas of learning for the industry following an ‘engagement’ process with UK bookmaker Ladbrokes.
The engagement, which began in late 2012 and ended this summer, was in relation to a number of compliance and policy matters, drawing attention to the issues of potential money laundering and special responsibility in identifying players at risk.
The Commission said that it had identified areas in which both Ladbrokes and the wider industry can develop their learning, particularly in managing trading and the competitive nature of the trading room in combination with meeting regulatory obligations, identifying player risk across products and platforms, and managing anti-money laundering controls.
“Some of the findings from the Commission’s review in this case and across the industry highlighted the challenges inherent in assessing customer risk across a wide range of products and platforms, and have underlined the importance of addressing the challenge with sufficiently documented policies and procedures that are consistently and effectively applied,” the Commission said.
The Commission said that at board level Ladbrokes co-operated with “commendable candour and openness” during the discussion, with the bookmaker also admitting that there were “significant” improvements to be made.
Under the trading room issue, the Commission ruled that Ladbrokes’ trading function appeared to be subject to lesser degree of formal control than other parts of the business, something that had led to significant vulnerabilities.
The Commission said that this lack of formal control is likely to be widespread amongst larger betting operators and therefore urged them to satisfy their own arrangement for effective governance.
