The UK Gambling Commission has announced that it has agreed a regulatory settlement with Lindar Media Limited in relation to social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) failures at the company’s online gambling operations.
According to the UKGC statement, Lindar Media, which trades as Mr Q and runs MrQ.com, will pay a settlement of £690,947 ($853,759/€798,570) following the commission’s investigation.
The investigation revealed:
- Insufficient implementation of AML policies, procedures and controls Gambling Commission Agrees Settlement with MrQ for License Breaches
- Inadequate reporting for key events Gambling Commission Agrees Settlement with MrQ for License Breaches
- Failure to carry out marketing in a socially responsible manner Gambling Commission Agrees Settlement with MrQ for License Breaches
Some examples of breaches found by the Commission included:
- All customers automatically assigned as low-risk for money laundering without adequate profiling of individuals
- Multiple customers allowed to deposit and lose £10,000 ($12,356/€11,556) in a short space of time without triggering an interaction
The Commission also found that on two occasions the Lindar ran ads that could appeal to minors.
On June 29th, 2022 the company ran a MrQ ad on Reddit that featured an image of three Spiderman cartoon figures. Then on August 3rd, 2022 MrQ.com featured cartoon imagery that was not restricted by a gateway. This imagery was in relation to King Kong cash pots, Piggy Bank Bills and The Doghouse Megaways.
Gambling Commission Agrees Settlement with MrQ for License Breaches Gambling Commission Agrees Settlement with MrQ for License Breaches. Gambling Commission Agrees Settlement with MrQ for License Breaches, the 16-24 year old age bracket shows the highest prevalence of problem gambling with 1% of gamblers this age reporting having issues.