Irish betting operator Paddy Power has been hit with nearly £310k in fines and penalties following a UK Gambling Commission probe into the company’s anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer practices.

On Monday, the UKGC released a statement detailing “failures in anti-money laundering controls” at Paddy’s online and land-based betting businesses. The UKGC said it was spotlighting Paddy’s “serious failings” in the hope that other UK-licensed operators would take note and avoid a similar trip to the regulatory woodshed.

In the first case detailed by the UKGC, Paddy’s retail operations were slammed for not properly ascertaining the source of the funds a high-value customer was wagering via fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT).

Queried on the origins of his wealth, the customer claimed to own a number of restaurants, an assertion the staff reportedly took at face value, which makes you wonder how they might have responded had he claimed to own a chain of Irish-themed betting shops.