UKGC Hits Repeat Offender ProgressPlay with £1m Fine for 'Unacceptable' AML Failures

• The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has issued a £1 million fine to B2B platform provider ProgressPlay Limited for serious anti-money laundering ( AML) and social responsibility failures.
• This is the second time in three years that ProgressPlay, which operates 134 websites, has faced enforcement action for similar breaches, having been fined £175,718 in 2022.
• The UKGC described the repeated failings as “unacceptable” and issued a stark warning that repeated breaches will result in “increasingly severe enforcement action.”
• Specific failures included not conducting an appropriate AML risk assessment and having inadequate systems to monitor for early signs of gambling-related harm.
• In addition to the fine, ProgressPlay must undergo a mandatory third-party audit to ensure its compliance controls are now effective.

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has imposed a £1 million penalty on platform provider ProgressPlay Limited for what it has described as “unacceptable” anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures. The action is made more significant by the fact that this is the second time in just three years that the regulator has sanctioned the company for similar compliance breaches.

ProgressPlay, which provides the platform for 134 online gambling websites, was previously fined £175,718 in 2022. The regulator has made it clear that its patience with the firm’s compliance record has run out.

“This case marks the second time ProgressPlay Limited has been subject to enforcement action by the Gambling Commission,” said John Pierce, the UKGC’s Director of Enforcement and Intelligence. “Operators should be in no doubt: repeated regulatory breaches will result in increasingly severe enforcement action.”

A Breakdown of the Compliance Failures

The UKGC’s investigation, which covered a period from August 2021 to August 2024, identified serious and systemic weaknesses. The key failings included:

• AML Failures: ProgressPlay had not conducted an appropriate Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing ( ML/TF) risk assessment for its business. It also failed to sufficiently scrutinise customer transactions to verify the source of funds and ensure they were consistent with the customer’s risk profile.
• Social Responsibility Failures: The operator’s systems were found to be inadequate for effectively monitoring customer activity at the point of account opening to identify potential gambling-related harm. Its customer interaction policy also failed to properly implement the “identify, act and evaluate” requirements of the UK’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice ( LCCP).

The Consequences: Fine, Warning, and Audit

The regulatory action against ProgressPlay consists of three parts: a £1 million payment in lieu of a financial penalty, a formal warning, and a requirement to undergo an independent third-party audit within the next six months. This audit will be tasked with assessing whether the company’s AML and social responsibility policies are now being effectively implemented.

A Warning to the Wider Industry

The UKGC has used this case to send a clear message to the entire industry, particularly to B2B platform providers who hold overarching responsibility for the compliance of a large number of white-label sites. John Pierce urged all operators to “examine the failings identified in this case and take proactive steps to strengthen their own systems and controls.”

The regulator noted that ProgressPlay had cooperated with the investigation and has taken corrective steps. However, the substantial fine and the mandatory audit underscore the Commission’s zero-tolerance approach to repeat offenders and systemic compliance weaknesses.