William Hill Group receives record fine of over £19 million imposed by UKGC
Penalty for both William Hill and Mr Green
William Hill Group is, as said earlier, one of the biggest gambling companies in the United Kingdom. This means that if they commit offences the penalty will turn out higher than most companies, because of their reach and influence. The William Hill Group has been imposed three fines by the Gambling Commission (UKGC). Those three fines summed up gets to a total of £19.2 million.
- The online casino William Hill gets the highest fine of all: £12.5 million.
- Mr Green Casino receives a fine of £3.7 million.
- The last and least, but certainly not low, a fine for William Hill retail (land based casinos) from £3 million.
William Hill Group’s offences
All three brands fall under the William Hill Group. De fines have been imposed because of several offences regarding anti-money laundering and responsible gaming rules. The UK Gambling Commission takes the offences very seriously, since they were debating about suspending William Hill’s license.
Andrew Rhodes, Chief Executive from the UKGC says the following:
“When the UKGC started this investigation, the breaches identified were so serious and apparent across all brands that we considered revoking the William Hill Group’s licence.”
“William Hill Group saved itself by acknowledging their mistakes and and engaging with us in search of improvements. One consequence, however, is that we had to impose the largest penalty payment in history.”
– Andrew Rhodes
William Hill Casino
William Hill Casino is a well-known online casino, especially in the UK. At William Hill you can bet on all sports such as boxing, Formula 1, Football and a lot more. Besides that William Hill has an online Casino with games as Poker, Bingo and various Slots, but also a Live Casino with numerous live studios.
A big plus at William Hill Casino is their additional promotions like the Free £30 for New Players.
Claim BonusNo checks were done by Mr Green
A whole list of violations by Mr Green has been published, but the most highlighted were poor to non-existent checks by Mr Green. There are stories about players that opened an account and lost £23.000 within 20 minutes, without any checks performed by Mr Green.
William Hill went wrong on several levels, both in the online casino and the land based branches were no checks performed. These checks need to be performed to find out where the gambled money comes from. Thus, gambling with large amounts of black money may be taking place. Failure to carry out these checks violates the anti-money laundering rules. Players who are out there to launder money can bet huge amounts of money on games as Roulette and Online Slots. These huge amounts of money could be betted at William Hill without any William Hill interventions.
A bad start for 888 Holdings
A bad start for 888 Holdings since they have to pay this huge fine. Last summer William Hill Group has been taken over by 888 Holdings for an amount no less than £1.95 billion. The amount for the takeover would have been a lot higher, but with eyes on the possible record fine for William Hill it has been lowered.
On top of that has 888 received a fine of £9.4 million from the UK Gambling Commission in March 2022.
An improvement plan for the William Hill Group
The reason william hill group’s licence has not been suspended is all due to the fact that they cooperated so well with the investigation and promised to improve. A member of the board of directors has been held responsible for the improvement plan. Following this, an independent party will assess whether William Hill has actually contributed to improvements in policies, procedures, controls, anti-money laundering and responsible gaming.
More Fines imposed by the UK Gambling Commission
Not only William Hill has been fined last month. Also gambling company Entain has been surprised with a £17 million fine.
The UKGC has fined a lot of gambling operators the last 15 months. The commission has imposed as many as 26 fines totalling more than £76 million since early 2022.
Andrew Rhodes reacts on the following sanctions:
“We have seen an improvement at the operators that have been fined by us. For instance, there are clear signs that gambling operators are doing their best to prevent incoming criminal money by using algorithms.”
Other Great Online Casinos in the UK – Our team’s selection
New
1 |
Bonus up £300 + 50 Spins |
|
Barz Casino review | |||
18+. New players only. Min. deposit £20. Max. bonus bet is £5. Bonus spins on selected games only and must be used within 72 hours. Winnings from Bonus spins credited as bonus funds and capped at £20. Bonus funds expire in 30 days, unused bonus funds will be removed. Welcome Offer is 100% match up to £300 plus 50 bonus spins on your 1st deposit. Bonus funds are separate to Cash funds, and are subject to 40x wagering the total bonus & cash. Only bonus funds count towards wagering contribution. Affordability checks apply. Terms apply. Please gamble responsibly. BeGambleAware.org |
||||||
*New & Exclusive
2 |
Bonus 15 Free Spins No Deposit |
|
Hot Streak review | |||
New customers making their first deposit only. Min deposit £50. 10% cashback on any net slot losses only (Min £10). Cashback based on losses from first deposit only. Cashback credited within 3 days from first deposit made. Min £1 cashbacks, max £200 cashback. Full T&C’s apply. Learn more |
||||||
Recommended
3 |
Bonus 21 Spins +121% |
|
21Casino review | |||
T&CS: 18+. New players only. 21 No-Deposit Spins on Book of Dead. Min deposit £10. Bonus funds are 121% up to £100. Bonus funds + spin winnings are separate to cash funds and subject to 35x wagering requirement. Only bonus funds count towards wagering contribution. £5 bonus max bet. Bonus funds must be used within 30 days, spins within 10 days. Affordability checks apply. Terms Apply. BeGambleAware.org Learn more |
||||||
4 |
bonus 30 Spins +100% |
|
Playgrand review | |||
T&Cs: 18+. New players only. 30 Non-Deposit Spins on Book of Dead. Min deposit £10. 100% up to £100 + 30 Bonus Spins on Reactoonz. Bonus funds + spin winnings are separate to cash funds and subject to 35x wagering requirement. Only bonus funds count towards wagering contribution. £5 bonus max bet. Winnings from No-Deposit Spins capped at £100. Bonus funds must be used within 30 days, spins within 10 days. Terms Apply. BeGambleAware.org Learn more |
||||||
*Best Bonus
5 |
bonus 23 Spins +100% Refund |
|
Yeti Casino review | |||
#AD New customers only, 18+, min deposit £10, wagering 60x for refund bonus, max bet £5 with bonus funds. Free Spins bonus has x40 wagering. 23 free spins on registration (max withdrawal is £100). 100% refund bonus up to £111 + 77 spins on 1st deposit. No max cash out on deposit offers. Eligibility is restricted for suspected abuse. Welcome bonus excluded for players depositing with Ecopayz, Skrill or Neteller. Full T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org Learn more |
||||||
6 |
Bonus 100 Free Spins on Starburst |
|
Bwin review | |||
18+. New depositors & UK residents only. Min dep. £10. 10x wag. on winnings. Spins valid only on Starburst slot & valued at £0.10 each. Spins expire in 7 days. Excludes deposits made via Skrill, Entropay, PayPal, Paysafecard & Neteller. T&Cs apply. Learn more |
||||||
*Always Cashback!
7 |
10 Spins 100% +99 Spins |
|
Yako Casino review | |||
#AD New customers only, min deposit £20, wagering 40x, max bet £5 with bonus funds. 100% up to £99 bonus + 99 free spins on 1st deposit. No max cash out on deposit offers. Welcome bonus excluded for players depositing with Skrill or Neteller. Full T&Cs apply. Learn more |
||||||
8 |
11 Spins +100% Bonus |
|
Videoslots review | |||
We will match your deposit up to £200 on your first deposit. £10 minimum deposit required. You are required to wager the bonus amount 35 times before you can withdraw the bonus funds. You can forfeit the bonus and take the winnings and paid out bonus funds. Only the remaining balance of the bonus which has not yet been released will be forfeited Bonus will be paid out in 10% increments to your cash account. Jackpot games do not contribute to the conversion. Maximum bet per spin is either 50% of your deposit up to £20. You must be 18 or over to play and 21 in countries where that is the minimum age by law. Play Responsibly. Learn more |
||||||
9 |
Bonus 520 Bonus Spins |
|
Captain Spins review | |||
18+. New players only. One welcome package per player. Max bonus bet £5, Min deposit £20. 1st deposit: get 100 bonus spins, 2nd Deposit: get 120 bonus spins, 3rd deposit: get 140 bonus spins, 4th deposit: get 160 bonus spins. All spins are on slot game Book of Dead only. Bonus funds must be used within 30 days and bonus spins within 7 days. Max winnings from bonus spins are equivalent to the number of spins awarded. Spins winnings credited as bonus. Bonus funds separate to Cash funds, and are subject to 35x wagering and withdrawal requirements. Full Terms Apply. BeGambleAware.org. Learn more |
||||||
10 |
Bonus 500 Bonus Spins |
|
Jonny Jackpot review | |||
18+. New players only. One welcome package per player. Max bonus bet £5, Min deposit £20, 1st deposit: get 100 bonus spins, 2nd Deposit: get 75 bonus spins, 3rd deposit: get 125 bonus spins, 4th deposit: get 50 bonus spins, 5th deposit: get 150 bonus spins. All spins are on slot game Book of Dead only. Bonus funds must be used within 30 days and bonus spins within 7 days. Spins winnings credited as bonus. Bonus funds separate to Cash funds, and are subject to 35x wagering and withdrawal requirements. Terms Apply. BeGambleAware.org. Learn more |