One of the most popular companies that operates in the UK bookmaking market – Stan James Online – is to be forced to pay an £80,000 penalty package following an investigation initiated by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).
Apart from the fact that the bookmaker is to be made to pay a massive penalty, it is also required to take some steps and improve its anti-money laundering processes as well as its social responsibility processes.
The case, on which an investigation was started by the UK gambling regulatory body after it found that a customer used stolen money to make deposits with Stan James Online in the period from November 2014 to October 2016. According to the UK Gambling Commission’s enquiries, the gambling company failed to detect the problem gambling behaviour of the customer in question at the time, so it failed to comply with the regulator’s financial requirements that are part of its anti-money laundering procedures.
UKGC Investigation Findings
A regulatory investigation was started by the UK Gambling Commission on March 29th 2017, after the regulator was sent a police report in regard to an individual who had stolen money from his employer and used it to fund his gambling habits. The customer ended up losing a total amount of £40,000.
According to the UK Gambling Commission’s statement, the Stan James brand breached the social responsibility code provisions 3.4.1. concerning Customer Interaction. Furthermore, the company failed to comply with the 2.1.2 Anti-money Laundering provision of the Ordinary code.
The online bookmaker brand accepted that its policies had not been adequate enough to identify the problem and comply with the regulatory financial requirements. The company cooperated throughout the investigation and immediately accepted that it failed to manage the customer in question appropriately.
As part of the regulatory settlement of Stan James, the online bookmaker is to be obliged to return the sum of £40,000 to the person whose money was stolen and placed as bets by the brand’s customer in the above-mentioned period. Another £40,000 will be also paid by Stan James as a financial penalty for its failure to spot the problem gambling behaviour at the time.
Stan James Online Presence in the UK
Earlier this month, the Chief Executive Officer of the operator’s parent company Kindred Group Plc, Henrik Tjärnström, revealed in an interview with The Racing Post that the Kindred had decided to cease Stan James brand’s operations in the UK in order to promote its flagship brand Unibet.
As revealed by Mr. Tjärnström at the beginning of October, Kindred Group is to fully transfer the customers of its Stan James brand to the sports betting platform of Unibet over the upcoming months, and the sponsorship partnerships and marketing activities of the brand are to be taken care of.
The online sportsbook unit of the Stan James brand was purchased by Kindred Group in October 2015 at the price of £19 million as part of the operator’s attempts to expand its UK market presence. At the time when the acquisition was carried out, Kindred Group revealed that the Stan James brand is planned to be maintained for a transitional period.
