Aspire Global and UKGC reach £1.4m settlement

AG Communications Limited, which is trading under Aspire Global in the United Kingdom and runs 58 gambling websites through white-label agreements, has reached a settlement with the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) following an extensive investigation into its operations.

Aspire Global in hot water with the UKGC for the second time since 2022

As a result, Aspire Global will pay a £1.4m settlement to the regulator to address several breaches that have to do with anti-money laundering and responsible gambling rules, as outlined by the watchdog.

According to the UKGC, Aspire Global has failed on several occasions to protect at-risk consumers who used its platforms.

One of the breaches particularly described by the regulator has to do with Aspire Global lacking, at the time of the investigation, a system that allows it to weigh in on those instances where a consumer would spend substantial amounts of money over a short period.

UKGC Director of Enforcement John Pierce has commented on the case, calling on previous offenses by the operator:

"This case marks the second occasion that this operator has been subject to enforcement action. Its failure to uphold anti-money laundering standards, delays in necessary interventions, and deficiencies in social responsibility measures are wholly unacceptable."

Such spending habits ought to trigger a reaction from a licensed operator, the UKGC argued. The UKGC spoke of one case where a person lost £6,000 within 48 hours and another, where a customer lost £7,000 in four hours of play.

To add insult to injury, Aspire Global also failed to prevent a gambler from opening several accounts, even though they had self-excluded from play. That player opened more than 100 accounts and managed to deposit £30,000, accumulating a loss of more than £19,000 over close to two years.

Aspire Global is committed to ensuring full regulatory compliance moving forward

However, the regulator did not find any evidence of malicious intent but rather chalked up these established deficiencies to the company lacking in certain regards of player protection at the time of the investigation.

The UKGC has also found issues with the way the company conducted AML and counter-terrorist financing checks, arguing that it relied on consumers reaching financial thresholds rather than proactively subject consumers to enhanced due diligence checks, which are considered a better way to break down possible instances of money laundering offenses.

Overall, Aspire Global has taken remediate action, and has done its best to follow UKGC’s recommendations to the letter. Aspire Global has come up with an action plan and cooperated fully with the investigation, acknowledging deficiencies found and offering support to investigators.

Aspire Global has also set up a third-party audit to ensure that it remains compliant with the regulator’s rules. The company was fined in 2022 when it had to pay £237,600 for similar offenses.

Image credit: Unsplash.com