Big winner: Bet 365 boss Denise Coates
Bet 365, run by Britain’s best-paid woman, has been docked more than half a million pounds for anti-money laundering failures.
The Gambling Commission said Denise Coates’s online betting group also did not carry out proper checks on high-risk punters.
Bet 365 was ordered to pay £582,120 which will go towards an undisclosed ‘socially responsible’ cause.
The watchdog said the bookmaker, which owns Stoke City football club, did not make adequate checks on new customers before their first deposits – risking not catching money laundering.
And when it came to preventing harmful gambling, its system to spot those who could be at risk was ‘not demonstrably effective’.
Coates, pictured, who is founder and CEO, has earned around £1.2billion in the past four years.
Kay Roberts from the watchdog said: ‘We expect high standards from operators in terms of keeping gambling safe, fair and crime-free.’