Gala International will have to pay £2.3m as a fine for failing to identify two gamblers who bet with stolen money.
The first player lost £837,545 over 14 months and the second one, £432,765 over 11 months. The both participated in online games at either Coral or Ladbrokes.
Reasons for Commission’s decision were that Ladbrokes Coral, owned by Gala Interactive, did not have written policies and specific procedures that could be able το identify and restrict players with gambling addiction problem.
Chief executive of the Gambling Commission, Sarah Harrison , said: “We will continue to take robust action where we see operator failures that harm consumers and the wider public. It is the responsibility of all operators – particularly key decision makers in those companies – to ensure they are protecting their customers and step in when there is behavior that might indicate problem gambling. This did not happen in this case and the £2.3m penalty package should serve as a warning to other operators.”
CEO of Ladbrokes Coral, Jim Mullen, said: “It is clear. We did not met our own standards or those demanded by the Commission”.