Gambling - Paddy Power Holdings Ltd - Settlement of Gambling Commission Investigation

The Gambling Commission have  published a public statement regarding a number of serious failings  on the part of Paddy Power Holdings Ltd (Paddy Power) in relation to keeping crime out of gambling and protecting vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited.

The full public statement, which forms part of the voluntary settlements entered into between the Commission and Paddy Power can be found here.

The report illustrates the concerns by reference to specific customers case studies.

The Commission’s statement concludes:

“We consider that this case provides valuable learning for operators, who should consider reviewing their legal obligations regarding the prevention of money laundering and ensuring that vulnerable people are not harmed or exploited by gambling.”

As well as agreeing to the publishing of this statement Paddy Power further agreed to:

• the commissioning of a review of Paddy Power’s AML and SR controls across its retail estate and its AML controls in its remote business to be undertaken by a third party at its expense,
• to share learning from the cases with the remote and non-remote sectors in a format to be agreed with the Commission,  
• a commitment to amending policies and procedures to address the shortcomings identified in the course of the investigation,
• the payment of £280,000 in total to an agreed socially responsible cause, which represents a sum to remove any profits made from the three customers in question and a voluntary payment in lieu of a financial penalty, and,
• to contribute £27,250 to the Commission’s costs in investigating this matter.

It should be noted that Paddy Power co-operated fully with the Commission in their investigation.

These facts illustrate the scale and proactive approach the Gambling Commission adopts in the face of such allegations and will continue to do so in the future.