UKGC hits Aspire Global with £237,600 penalty

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission has issued a new penalty to the tune of £237,600 against AG Communications, better known to the public as Aspire Global, which is the company’s trading name in the jurisdiction. The penalty has been issued over anti-money laundering failures, the regulator explained and said that an official warning has been given to the company.

Aspire Global runs 66 websites in the jurisdiction and moving forward, it would have to demonstrate that it is able to uphold regulatory standards unflinchingly. Presently, the regulator is concerned about AML breaches that have shown deficiencies in the due diligence processes of six partners to whom Aspire Global has offered white-label solutions and services.

The UKGC has drawn the company’s attention to a previous document issued back in February 2022, which outlined the obligations that companies have to ensure that their third-party partners are not in any way breaching AML standards in the country.

The new requirement is particularly difficult for white-label companies such as Aspire Global, but it is also proof that the commission expects from businesses to operate up to the necessary standards without compromise. The document also states:

"Operators should also give due consideration to the money laundering risks posed by their business-to-business relationships, including any third parties they contract with."

Moving forward, Aspire Global and AG Communications will have to conduct risk-based due diligence on the third parties they have business relationships with to ensure that they are capable of safeguarding consumers and not inadvertently assisting in money laundering.

This is the latest fine to hit the UK gambling sector with the gambling regulator stepping up its efforts to hold companies accountable. The Commission has been on a tear insofar as fines against gambling entities have been concerned this year.

In October, the regulator slapped a £672,829 fine against NSUS Limited, and before that in August, the watchdog penalized Smarkets, issuing a £630,000 fine in that case as well. However, the biggest fine issued to date is the one against 888 Holdings which was hit with a £9.4 million penalty in March.

888 Holdings has recently completed the acquisition of William Hill’sinternational assets, resulting in a bigger-than-expected amount of debt. The company’s CEO, Itai Pazner, though, remains confident that 888 can tide over the debt and is confident in the future of his company both in the United Kingdom and beyond that.

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