Betway Facing Regulator Probe
Betway is facing an investigation by the UK regulator over claims that a customer was able to gamble over £370,000 using stolen funds. The Gambling Commission will examine how the company’s safeguards failed to identify criminal activity.
Betway under investigation © Pixabay.
Betway’s customer Benjamin Jones was sentenced to prison for 18 months after being found guilty of stealing money from the decorating company he worked for. Nottingham Crown Court heard that Jones took a total of £370,347 over a three-year period. Jones used the money to fund his Betway account and was used to gamble.
The court’s prosecutor, Katrina Wilson told local newspaper Nottingham Post that Betway had not been “checking the authenticity of the money being used by this defendant”. The company affected by the theft, the Cake Decorating Company, Colwick, are planning to issue civil action against the bookmaker in an attempt to recover the funds lost.
The court heard that Father-of-two Benjamin Jones, 30, started stealing from the company three years ago and at first the amounts were about £5,000 a month. This figure increased to £30,000 before the fraud was discovered. Jones performed the theft by asking customers to pay money due into his own PayPal, he later altered company records to hide the transactions.
The Cake Decorating Company Colwick company owner Daniel White confirmed that the UKGC had been in touch about the case and confirmed the company were seeking compensation over the matter, he said;
Gambling companies have a regulatory duty to prevent stolen money from being gambled. Adequate money laundering checks were not carried out, which left us vulnerable to this crime. The Gambling Commission are carrying out their own independent investigation, and we hope to hear from them shortly.– Daniel White, The Cake Decorating Company Owner.
White said the effect on the business had been substantial but had been minimised due to the length of time over which the crime was committed. He called the crime “calculated and sophisticated” and said it had affected the company’s growth prospects but added that a less robust company wouldn’t have weathered the storm.
A spokesperson for Betway said the company was aware of the case and would be performing an internal investigation. The bookmaker stated that they do not seek, nor do they wish to profit from any illegal activity and would actively take steps to ensure victims are reimbursed.
