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Great Britain Gambling Commission has instructed Done Brothers, trading as Betfred, to pay £825,000 after a series of compliance failures tied to safer gambling duties and anti money laundering practices. Regulators confirmed that Betfred broke multiple licence conditions and must now complete an independent audit to show that its AML and player protection processes function correctly.
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Commission investigators highlighted gaps in how Betfred monitored and understood money laundering risks across its estate of roughly 1,350 shops. The regulator said Betfred relied on machine alerts and daily reports, but these tools did not give a complete view of how much customers spent on B3 gaming machines. Without accurate spend monitoring, analysts said Betfred could not assess AML risks or possible terrorist financing concerns.
Another issue involved sanctions screening. According to the regulator, Betfred did not have an effective policy to detect players who may appear on financial sanctions lists.
Thresholds that triggered source of funds checks also drew criticism. Betfred set those thresholds at £15,000 in losses and £125,000 in stakes over 365 days, which regulators called not appropriately risk based.
The commission also identified failures across Betfred safer gambling processes. Staff did not consistently recognise financial indicators of harm for customers using B3 machines, and interactions with players did not always take place after clear risk signals appeared. When interactions did occur, the regulator said they did not happen in a way that reduced the chance of gambling related harm.
Investigators added that the quality of interactions, especially around understanding how those conversations affected the customer, did not meet required standards.
Specific breaches listed in the ruling include paragraph 2 of licence condition 12.1.1 related to AML controls, as well as paragraph 1 of Social Responsibility Code Provision 3.4.1 covering customer interaction responsibilities.
The action follows a previous regulatory settlement from July 2023, when Betfred paid £3.25 million for AML and social responsibility failures. Regulators acknowledged that Betfred has taken steps to improve since the newest issues were identified, but these changes will be examined during the upcoming independent audit.
John Pierce, director of enforcement at the commission said:
“While the failings identified during the 2024 Compliance Assessment were predominantly technical breaches rather than arising from specific customer examples, they were nevertheless unacceptable, particularly with thresholds appearing too high and insufficiently risk based when assessed in practice, and deficiencies in some processes and procedures adopted by the licensee.”
“We fully acknowledge the improvements the operator has already made since these issues were identified. The independent audit will be key to confirming these changes are sustained so that the operator continues to be fully compliant with social responsibility and anti-money laundering requirements.”
The payment relates to AML and safer gambling failures identified by Great Britain Gambling Commission.
The assessment covered May 2024 to March 2025 across Betfred retail locations.
Betfred could not assess full customer spend, had high ineffective thresholds, and lacked an effective sanctions screening policy.