Aspire Global firm hit with £1.4m penalty for ‘wholly unacceptable’ failures
The Gambling Commission said one at-risk customer of AG Communications lost £6,000 in two days.
Aspire Global firm AG Communications has been hit with a £1.4 million penalty by the Gambling Commission for “wholly unacceptable” failures to step in and protect at-risk customers and not meeting anti-money laundering rules.
The commission said AG Communications, which trades as Aspire Global and runs 58 websites, did not have proper systems in place to stop customers from gambling thousands of pounds in a short space of time.
It said the group did not act quickly enough despite one customer losing £6,000 in 48 hours, only phoning the customer when the daily loss limit of £5,000 had been reached.
Another customer was able to lose £7,000 in just over four hours in the early hours after a system error failed to prevent them from depositing above the backstop limit, according to the commission.
One customer was also able to open a significant number of gambling accounts despite the fact they had previously self-excluded.
As well as the social responsibility failures, the commission said the firm did not meet crucial anti-money laundering standards.
It marks the second time AG Communications has faced regulatory action in recent years, having paid £237,600 in 2022 for anti-money laundering failures.
John Pierce, director of enforcement at the Gambling Commission, said: “Its failure to uphold anti-money laundering standards, delays in necessary interventions, and deficiencies in social responsibility measures are wholly unacceptable.”
He added: “It is essential that operators not only implement and maintain robust anti-money laundering policies, procedures, and controls but also act swiftly and decisively in response to any indications of suspicious activity.
“Effective social responsibility measures must be in place at all times to ensure that consumers identified as at risk receive timely and appropriate intervention.
“This case stands as a clear warning to all operators that repeated regulatory failings will result in increasingly stringent enforcement action.”
AG Communications will pay the money to socially responsible causes as part of the settlement.
