Gambling Commission hits online operator Mr Green with £3 million fine

Online gaming company Mr Green is the latest operator to be punished for regulatory failures, with the Gambling Commission imposing a £3 million penalty on the firm.

Mr Green, which was acquired by William Hill last year, failed to have effective procedures in place aimed at preventing harm and money laundering, the regulator said.

The failures, which took place before the operator was bought by Hills, included not carrying out a social responsibility interaction with a customer who won £50,000, gambled it away and deposited thousands more pounds.

They also took ten-year-old evidence of a £176,000 claims payout as satisfactory proof of funds for a customer who deposited more than £1m, and accepted a photograph of a laptop screen showing currency in dollars on an alleged crypto trading account as adequate source of cash.

Gambling Commission executive director Richard Watson said: "Our investigation uncovered systemic failings in respect of both Mr Green's social responsibility and AML [anti-money laundering] controls which affected a significant number of customers across its online casinos.

"Consumers in Britain have the right to know that there are checks and balances in place which will help keep them safe and ensure gambling is crime-free – and we will continue to crack down on operators who fail in this area."

The £3m will be paid to help fund the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms.

Mr Green is the ninth gambling business to face action as part of a probe by the regulator that has led to more than £20m in penalty packages since 2018.

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