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Correction: Betsson has never owned TonyBet, it just acquired its Lithuanian licensed entity and business in 2016 and rebranded it to Betsafe. The previous owners have continued to operate TonyBet in all other markets but without any involvement from Betsson.
The UK Gambling Commission has issued TonyBet a £443,000 penalty for failings in social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) policies.
The online gambling company, headquartered in Estonia, was also cited for failing to have fair and transparent terms and conditions, such as its policy of requiring identifications for “all withdrawals”, but not having required the same checks of players earlier in the gambling process, the Gambling Commission said.
The policy hindered withdrawals but not deposits, the commission said.
TonyBet also declared that winnings could be confiscated within 30 days if gamblers did not declare AML identification, the regulator said.
The TonyBet penalty follows a £338,000 regulatory settlement in lieu of a fine to Vivaro Ltd. on Tuesday (January 17), in which the Gambling Commission found failures in AML and safer gambling policies.
In addition to the financial penalty, TonyBet received licence conditions and a warning.
The company was cited for social responsibility shortcomings, including failing to identify players at risk of harm from gambling and failing to interact with players who might be at risk from harm, the regulator said.
AML problems included failing to conduct adequate risk assessments of potential money laundering and terrorist-financing issues, and failing to ensure the company has appropriate policies, procedures and controls to prevent both.
The commission said TonyBet cooperated throughout the investigation, and it noted the company’s “ongoing improvements programme”.
TonyBet operates in Denmark as well as Estonia, and previously had a trading name of 1xBet.uk, which is now an inactive trading name, the commission said.
Its website says it was founded in 2003 as Omnibet, and it has been licensed in the UK since 2014.
The company recently got licences in Ontario and the Netherlands.
