(Reuters) -UK's Gambling Commission slapped a 7.1 million pound ($8.8 million) penalty on online operators 32Red Ltd and Platinum Gaming Ltd, owned by Kindred Group Plc, for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures, the regulator said on Thursday.
"These failures highlight clearly that both operators failed to interact with customers in a way which minimises the risk of them experiencing harms associated with gambling," said Kay Roberts, executive director of the Gambling Commission.
The regulator said financial triggers for anti-money laundering reviews at 32Red were too high and not appropriate to effectively manage money laundering and terrorist financing risks, while Platinum's policies were found unsuitable.
Social responsibility errors by 32Red and Platinum included failure to identify and interact with customers who might have been experiencing the perils of gambling.
32Red, which runs 32red.com, will pay a 4.2 million pound fine, while Platinum Gaming, which runs unibet.co.uk, will cough up 2.9 million pounds, the regulator said in a statement on Thursday. ($1 = 0.8113 pounds)