WILLIAM HILL has been fined a record £19.2million and almost lost its licence for letting punters run up thousands in debt without any checks.
The high street bookmaker — owned by gambling giant 888 — allowed one person to open an account and spend £23,000 in 20 minutes.
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Another unchecked customer spent £18,000 in 24 hours while a third blew £32,500 in two days.
The fine is the biggest-ever dished out by the Gambling Commission, which criticised the bookie for failing to protect customers and prevent money laundering.
Watchdog boss Andrew Rhodes said: “The failings we uncovered were so widespread and alarming, serious consideration was given to licence suspension.
“However, because the operator immediately recognised their failings and worked with us to swiftly implement improvements, we instead opted for the largest enforcement payment in our history.”
It comes after William Hill was fined £6.2million for similar issues in 2018.
Last week the commission fined two operators owned by Kindred Group a combined £7.2million for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures.
Its previous largest financial penalty was the £17million dished out to Entain — whose brands include Ladbrokes and Coral — for regulatory failures in August 2022.
William Hill was purchased by 888 Holdings from Caesar’s Entertainment in July 2022.
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888 said: “The settlement relates to the period when William Hill was under the previous ownership and management. After William Hill was acquired, the company quickly addressed the identified issues with a rigorous action plan.”
888’s revenue was £1.85billion in 2022.
WHG (International), which runs williamhill.com, will pay £12.5million, MR Green, which runs mrgreen.com, will pay £3.7million and William Hill Organization, which runs more than 1,300 betting outlets across Britain, will pay £3million.
The £19.2million will go to “socially responsible” causes.
BOOTS ON GROUND
THE number of shoppers visiting Boots stores rose 16 per cent in the past three months.
Consumers stocking up on beauty and skincare products helped overall sales climb by around 11 per cent over the quarter to February 28.
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Beauty products accounted for 48 per cent of sales online.
Boots — owned by US firm Walgreens Boots Alliance — also reported a strong Christmas period, with retail sales up 17.4 per cent in the five weeks to the end of December.
Sebastian James, managing director of Boots UK & ROI, credited the brand’s “value and market-leading beauty offer”.
NEW CREW CHIEF
SPIRITS giant Diageo has appointed its first female boss after announcing the retirement of Sir Ivan Menezes.
Debra Crew will be promoted from chief operating officer to CEO from July 1 to become the 10th female boss among FTSE 100 firms.
Menezes had been in the top job for a decade and with the firm — which owns Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff and Guinness — for 25 years. He earned more than £7.8million in the year to June 2022.
Chairman Javier Ferran said: “Diageo is in the right hands for the next phase of its growth.”
ASDA’S PUMPED
SUPERMARKET giant Asda looks set to get the thumbs up over a £600million deal to buy Co-op petrol forecourts.
The competition watchdog is considering accepting Asda’s offer to appease concerns by offloading 13 petrol stations with attached grocery stores.
Asda — owned by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital — acted after the Competition and Markets Authority warned the deal could result in “higher prices or less choice” for motorists and shoppers across the 13 sites.
The watchdog said it would make its final decision on the deal by 30 May.
BANK FAIL QUICKEST SINCE 1995
THE collapse of Silicon Valley Bank was the fastest since barings in 1995, the Bank of England chief said.
Governor Andrew Bailey told MPs the UK banking system was not in a precarious position like in the 2008 financial crisis.
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But he warned yesterday: “We are in a period of very heightened tension.”
Mr Bailey was being quizzed by the Treasury Committee on the collapse of tech-focused SVB two weeks ago.
The group’s UK arm was sold to HSBC for £1 in a rescue deal.
Mr Bailey said: “The UK banking system is in a strong position both capital and liquidity wise. It is not showing signs of problems and we have tested very extensively.”
He said that while rising interest rates were “an issue” for US banks, they were less likely to affect UK lenders as they were regulated differently.
Deputy bank governor Dave Ramsden told MPs: “We have to remain incredibly vigilant.”
DELIVERY AT OCADO
ONLINE grocer Ocado said its retail business, owned with M&S, is on track to return to profit as first-quarter sales rose 3.4 per cent to £583.7million.
That was despite “challenging” trading as shoppers chose more chilled and frozen food.
Retail boss Hannah Gibson said: “Customers are responding to higher food prices by moderating their spend.”
Average basket sizes fell 7.5 per cent to 45 items in the first quarter but there was a 13.8 per cent customer rise to 951,000.
GROCERY PRICES IN 17.5% RISE
GROCERY price inflation has hit another record high of 17.5 per cent — to add around £837 to an annual household bill.
Shoppers are turning to cheaper supermarkets to hunt for bargains, according to analysts Kantar.
Lidl was the fastest growing supermarket chain with sales rising 25.8 per cent over the year to give it 7.4 per cent market share.
Aldi enjoyed a 25.4 per cent rise in sales, climbing to 9.9 per cent market share.
Prices of eggs, milk and cheese have been rising the fastest, data reveals.
Fraser McKevitt, of Kantar, said: “Unfortunately, it’s more bad news for the British public, who are experiencing the ninth month of double-digit grocery price inflation.”
