Maple International Ventures has agreed to pay £360,000 to socially responsible causes following a UK Gambling Commission review.
The operator of Lottomart.com was found to have significant AML and social responsibility failings within its operations, breaching both the Licence Condition and Social Responsibility Code Provision.
In particular, a review following a compliance assessment found that the operator failed in its duties to implement policies and procedures to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
It also found Maple’s controls for identifying potential signs of harm, such as binges, spikes and overnight play, “were inadequate”.
John Pierce, Commission Director of Enforcement, said on the settlement: “The cornerstone of every licensed business must be the proper implementation of effective policies and procedures aimed at making gambling crime-free and safer. This operator is now being held to account.”
A statement from the UKGC detailed examples of the failings uncovered during the review.
The Commission’s investigation discovered that a customer evaded Maple’s automated controls for detecting duplicate accounts by switching the order of their first names. The account was only identified the following day, after significant deposits and losses had already been made.
In addition, the time delay between a money laundering risk being identified and action being taken meant customers whose identities had not been fully verified could continue transacting beyond intended thresholds.
The UKGC said an aggravating factor in its review was that, despite the operator being aware that customers could surpass its financial threshold for full customer due diligence checks, an effective fix was only implemented after discussions held during the assessment.
However, it did acknowledge that Maple had an unblemished regulatory history and swiftly put in place an action plan to remedy the failings.
“We would advise all operators to read the Maple International Ventures public statement and consider whether their own policies and procedures are both effective and are being successfully implemented,” warned Pierce.
Online slot growth puts UK Gov on high alert
Earlier this year, the UK Government increased the money laundering risk for casinos amid the rising popularity of online gaming.
The Treasury and Home Office cited “changes in customer, geographical and transaction risks” – in particular, an increase in funds moving through remote casinos driven by the COVID-19 pandemic – for increasing the money laundering risk level for casinos from ‘low’ to ‘medium’ in the UK’s National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing 2025 report.
According to the report, published on 17 July, income from remote casino slot games has risen by 52% since it was last published in 2020, from £2.3bn to £3.6bn, with more players reportedly gambling for longer periods.
“The increased scale and volume of slot gaming, when combined with risks of non-face-to-face business relationships and the noncompliance with customer due diligence requirements by some casinos, increases the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing,” the report stated.