Following the discovery of significant shortcomings in social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) controls, Maple International Ventures Limited, the operator of the online casino and betting site Lottomart.com, has agreed to pay £360,000 to the UK Gambling Commission.
The entire settlement will be given to socially conscious organizations that support industry best practices and work to lessen the harm caused by gambling.
The Commission took this action after evaluating Maple International Ventures’ remote operating licence for compliance in June 2024.
The operator’s risk assessments and customer protection systems were deemed unsuitable for use between June 2023 and July 2024 by the regulatory review that followed.
Gaps in AML procedures, inefficient checks to prevent duplicate accounts, and inadequate measures to identify clients at risk of gambling-related harm were some of the flaws.
Key Failures and the Regulator’s Response
In its AML risk assessment, Maple International was found to have overlooked significant risks, including those involving organised crime gangs and mule accounts.
Among its weaknesses were controls that failed to detect suspicious account changes, such as reversing names to evade detection, and customer identity verification errors that allowed gambling activity to exceed set thresholds.
Regarding social responsibility, the company’s policies did not identify risky practices such as “binges,” abrupt activity spikes, overnight play, and high-stakes betting following victories.
The regulator came to the conclusion that Maple International lacked automated actions for prompt intervention and did not define strong harm indicators.
As John Pierce, the Commission’s Director of Enforcement, noted: “The cornerstone of every licensed business must be the proper implementation of effective policies and procedures aimed at making gambling crime free and safer. This operator is now being held to account for anti-money laundering and social responsibility failings uncovered during a compliance assessment.”
Maple International’s previous spotless compliance record, prompt cooperation, acknowledgement of mistakes, and execution of corrective actions were all mitigating factors.
The enforcement action was brought about because Maple International permitted lapses to continue in spite of industry reminders and guidance.
The Commission has urged all operators to read the public statement and make sure their own procedures and security measures are strictly followed.
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