High Street bookmaker William Hill has been fined £19.2 million for allowing punters to bet too much.
One customer lost £23,000 in just 23 minutes.
The Gambling Commission said Hill must pay the penalty – the largest ever imposed – for “social responsibility and anti-money laundering failings”.
The previous largest fine was £17 million against Entain in August last year.
The commission discovered a litany of failings from William Hill, including its bookie shops, williamhill.com and online casino site Mr Green.
The regulator found one customer was allowed to open an account and spend £23,000 in 23 minutes without any checks.
Another deposit money and lost £70,134 in a month.
William Hill was sold last year to gambling mogul 888 for £2 billion.
A spokesman for 888 said:
“The settlement relates to the period when William Hill was under the earlier ownership and management.
“After William Hill was acquired, the company quickly addressed the identified issues with the implementation of a rigorous action plan.”
Will Prochaska, strategy director at Gambling With Lives, a charity set up by families bereaved by gambling-related suicide, said yesterday:
“Fines won’t stop the gambling industry from deliberately exploiting its customers and driving hundreds every year to suicide.”
