Aspire Global has become the latest operator to be fined by the UK Gambling Commission for failures related to anti-money laundering responsibilities.

On 30^th November 2022 the commission reported that Aspire Global had been fined £237,600, received an official warning and had further conditions added to its license.

Checks made by Aspire Global on six third party businesses the company had entered in to white-label partnerships with were found to have been inadequate.

In its report of the action on their website the Commission specifically refers to breaches of “Paragraphs 1 and 2 of licence condition (LC) 12.1.1: Anti-money laundering – Prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing”.

In the Aspire Global business model, the operator sub-licenses its platform to 3^rd party businesses who commit branding and marketing budget, usually on a revenue share basis.  Under the terms of their license Aspire are required to carry out due diligence on the source of funds for the business deal.

In conclusion the Commission state that, “The Licensee co-operated with the Commission throughout the investigation and took corrective steps to address the identified failings.”

Aspire Global run 66 gambling domains in the UK, including MrPlay, Spin Rio, Casiplay and Luckland.

They are the latest in a long line of UK-licensed operators to have been subjected to action from the UK Gambling Commission who have become more punitive in the last 2 years. Other operators to recently receive fines include the following:

• Entain – £17 million in August 2022
• 888 Holdings – £9.4 million in March 2022
• Genesis Global Ltd – £3.8 million in January 2022
• Betfred – £2.87 million in September 2022
• Sky Vegas – £1.2 million in March 2022

All of the above fines have been issued for breach of license including social responsibility, responsible gambling and anti-money laundering failures.

The fines come at a time when the gambling industry in the UK is under intense scrutiny from media and parliament as the government prepares to publish a white paper that will establish a blueprint for a new Gambling Act.

New legislation could bring in controversial affordability checks and stake limits on games like online slots as well as restrictions on advertising.

In the meantime the Gambling Commission continues to flex its muscles and keep a close eye on licensees taking bets in the UK.

Further Reading

UK Gambling Commission Report of Aspire Global Fine