GVC fined 5.9 million pounds for failings at Ladbrokes

(Reuters) - Britain's GVC <GVC.L> said on Wednesday it would pay 5.9 million pounds in fines as its Ladbrokes Coral unit had failed to safeguard consumers from gambling addiction and sustained losses.

GVC bought bookmaker Ladbrokes Coral for up to 4 billion pounds in 2018.

The Gambling Commission found that Ladbrokes Coral did not put safeguards to prevent consumers from gambling harm and money laundering, the National Lottery Commission said, citing some cases where the company could have stepped in.

In one case, the commission said the company did not engage with a customer who lost £98,000 over two-and-a-half years.

The Commission also said Ladbrokes allowed a customer to gamble without taking steps to verify the source of funds or consider if the customer could afford to spend and lose that amount of money.

GVC said it had taken measures towards safer gambling processes including verifying customers' sources of funds and a near five-fold increase in staffing in its compliance and responsible gambling teams since 2016.

Several betting companies, including Bet365, Flutter <FLTRE.I>, Sky Betting & Gaming and William Hill <WMH.L>, said earlier this year they would significantly increase funding for problem gambling treatment and safer gambling measures.

(Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)