Regulatory penalties and settlements surpass £25m in Q1

Gambling regulators in markets worldwide issued over £25m (€28.3m/$30.9m) in fines, penalties and financial settlements in the first quarter, according to data collected by GamblingIndustryFines.com.

This figure comfortably surpasses the £16m in fines, penalties and settlements issued across 2019 in its entirety.

iGaming compliance tracker GamblingIndustryFines.com said that Q1's fines and settlements were split between just five operators.

Betway's record settlment worth £11.6m, agreed after the GB Gambling Commission found the operator had breached a number of social responsibility and money laundering regulations related to high-spending customers, was the biggest single sum.

This was followed by another Gambling Commission settlement, worth £3m, with William Hill-owned Mr Green. The operator failed to adhere to harm prevention and money laundering regulations in this case.

In March, the Swedish Gaming Authority handed Kindred Group an SEK100m (£8.1m/€9.2m/$10.0m) penalty for offering unauthorised bonuses and lotteries without a licence to players.

Meanwhile, Blackrock Media in January paid a €2.3m (£2.0m/$2.5m) financial penalty to the Malta Gaming Authority for processing payments for unlicensed igaming sites.

In addition, the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority in February convicted Ladbrokes Australia and Neds of illegal gambling marketing, issuing the operators with a fine of AUD$207,500 (£101,552/€114,294/$125,614), the highest ever levied in the Australian state.