The UK Gambling Commission has shown a rare sense of mercy after letting some on-course bookmakers off the hook for getting stung in the regulator’s underage betting sting.

Last July, the UKGC announced that seven unidentified on-course bookmakers had allowed the regulator’s undercover 16-year-old agent place wagers at the Royal Ascot meet the month before. This January, word leaked that the UKGC planned to impose penalties equal to 2.5% of each of the offending bookies’ annual gross profit.

Psych! On Wednesday, word broke that the bookies had been let off with warnings or ‘advice to conduct’ letters stressing that they needed to up their Age Verification compliance. The small-time bookies had protested that the 2.5% penalty, which in one case would have amounted to £7,600, was vastly disproportionate to their infractions.

The UKGC, which hasn’t been as lenient with other licensees who strayed from the straight and narrow, said it chose to spare the rod in this case due to “the impact of the exceptional commercial challenges and current uncertainty for on-course bookmakers.” However, the regulator warned that it would be watching the sinful seven closely, and future cockups won’t find the UKGC in such a forgiving mood.