Woes continue at Liverpool gaming business The Football Pools as it is fined £375,000 by the Gambling Commission for ‘social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures’. Tony McDonough reports
Online gaming business, The Football Pools, is to pay a £375,000 fine after a Gambling Commission investigation into “social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures”.
It is the latest setback for the Liverpool-based firm which in 2024 saw its lenders take control of the firm after it sustained two years of heavy losses. Pre-tax losses of £18m in 2022 were followed by further losses of £15m in 2023.
In February the company, which has its headquarters in Walton, looked to draw a line under its troubles by rebranding as just ‘The Pools’ and revealing a new logo combined with a major marketing and radio advertising campaign.
However, now the company, which runs four websites, including footballpools.com, will have to pay the hefty fine to the commission following the probe. All £375,000 will go to “socially responsible” causes. The breaches occurred between September 2022 and August 2023.
John Pierce, Commission director of enforcement, said: “This case demonstrates that the licensee’s approach to anti-money laundering risk profiling and monitoring was insufficient, allowing high-risk customers to continue gambling before completing necessary enhanced due diligence checks.
“In addition, the licensee was over-reliant on financial alerts that whilst preventing significant losses meant it failed to engage in a timely manner with some customers who were potentially experiencing other markers of gambling-related harm such as time spent gambling and high velocity spend.
“While it is recognised that necessary improvements have been made by the licensee following the completion of the compliance assessment, the Commission will take further action if these standards are not maintained.”
In the ruling the Commission gave the company credit for swiftly putting in place an action plan, fully co-operating with the investigation and providing information by agreed deadlines.
Click here to read the full public statement from the Commission
The Football Pools was founded in the city in 1923 by tycoon Sir John Moores. Then called Littlewoods Pools it was regarded as the best way of getting rich quickly by generations of Brits.
Players would use skill and luck to forecast the weekend’s football results. At its height the Pools employed an army of doorstep coupon collectors and hundreds of people checking the coupons back at its Liverpool headquarters.
In 1994 it faced an existential threat when the UK Government launched the National Lottery. The number of people doing the Pools plummeted but, somehow, the brand survived and maintained a steady customer base
Today it is a business that has taken the traditional Pools game and updated it for the digital age. The company, which employs more than 150 people, is now in its 101st football season. The company also offers other online subscription games.
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While it has survived against the odds the company has endured a torrid period. Revenues for 2023 came in at £21m, lower than the £24.7m reported for 2022. Directors concluded the business needed further capital injection and this prompted discussions between its shareholders OpCapita Funds and lender HOF.
As a result of these discussions it was decided that HOF, an investment fund run by Hoplon Investment Partners, would take a majority stake in the business and put in a further £4m of capital.
LBN has contacted The Football Pools for comment.