Football Pools Limited Faces £375,000 Regulatory Action

_{Gambling Commission finds AML and social responsibility failures and fines Football Pools Limited. (Image: GC/Football Pools Limited)}

Online casino business Football Pools Limited is to pay £375,000 after a Gambling Commission investigation revealed social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures.

The operator, which runs four websites, including footballpools.com, will pay the money as part of a settlement with the Gambling Commission. All £375,000 will go to socially responsible causes.

The breaches are said to have occurred between September 2022 and August 2023.

Customers Allowed to Gamble Before Completing Due Diligence Checks 

John Pierce, the Gambling Commission’s Director of Enforcement, said: “This case demonstrates that the licensee's approach to anti-money laundering risk profiling and monitoring was insufficient, allowing high-risk customers to continue gambling before completing necessary enhanced due diligence checks.

In February 2025 the Gambling Commission’s Director of Enforcement shared his insights into managing AML risks across the sector and spoke about the need for vigilance.

Summary of Failings and Key Findings of Commission 

The following summary of the public statement provides further details of the findings of the Gambling Commission.

The UK's Gambling Commission conducted a regulatory review of Football Pools Ltd. (Licence No. 048272-R-326339-008) after identifying serious failings in its anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility (SR) controls for online betting. 

As a result, the operator will pay £375,000 in lieu of a financial penalty.

Key Findings

• The licensee relied too heavily on financial triggers to assess customer risk.
• Hard stops to prevent further gambling were not applied promptly, nor were customer risk assessments conducted in a timely manner.
• Customer risk profiles were delayed, taking an average of 25 days after financial triggers were hit.

Internal systems failed to identify at-risk customers for safer gambling interactions, with delays in engaging high-risk players, especially those who had opted out of marketing. 

Customers exhibiting concerning gambling behaviours were not addressed promptly after financial triggers, and risk profile backlogs emerged due to inadequate staffing.

Football Pools Ltd. will pay £375,000 towards socially responsible initiatives and investigation costs after breaches that posed serious risks to licensing objectives and mirrored past cases. However, the licensee implemented corrective measures and fully cooperated with the investigation.

Recommendations for Operators

The Gambling Commission urges operators to strengthen AML and SR controls, act swiftly on customer risk indicators, and maintain thorough records of gambling behaviours that require intervention.