Watford’s shirt sponsors MrQ.com have been fined almost £700,000 by the Gambling Commission.

The online gaming business, owned by St Albans-based Lindar Media Limited, were found guilty of failures in anti-money laundering and social responsibility.

MrQ.com's logo has appeared on the Hornets kits and other merchandise from this summer, although supporters are given the option of purchasing kit without the logo if they wish.

They became the club's main sponsor, agreeing a three-year deal in June which was described by the club at the time as a "record-breaking deal for an EFL club".

The £690,947 fine – which will go to socially responsible good causes - was announced earlier today by the Gambling Commission, after they conducted a compliance assessment in September 2022.

When looking at the period covering July 2021 to September 2022, the Commission’s compliance assessment and subsequent regulatory review found:

  • Failings in Lindar Media Limited’s implementation of its AML (anti-money laundering) policies, procedures and controls
  • Deficiencies in its responsible gambling policies, procedures, controls and practices
  • Weaknesses in its reporting arrangements in respect of key events
  • The person responsible for the Licensee’s gambling regulatory compliance function (Head of Regulatory Compliance) occupied other management posts without the Commission’s approval
  • Failure to advertise its marketing products in a socially responsible manner
  • Failure to make an annual financial contribution to an organisation which supports research, prevention and treatment for those harmed by gambling

The fine was imposed after the Commission had taken into account remedial action taken by Lindar Media Limited prior to and immediately after the compliance assessment.

Lindar Media Limited's CEO, Savvas Fellas, said: "My focus since 2022 has been centred around maturing the day-to-day operations through the development of the senior leadership team.

“We’ve implemented scalable processes that provide consistency as we grow and built technology-driven models that underpin compliance and safer gambling promises to our players; all of which are aligned with our mission of offering progressive, value entertainment - with delight and transparency.”

 

In a statement, Lindar Media Limited said the failings listed by the Gambling Commission “took place during a period of exponential growth with the investigations being conducted prior to the organisations implementation of its core senior leadership team”.

They added that "significant investments were allocated to AML and Safer Gambling to raise the standards of the policies and procedures that guarantee MrQ continues to be a reference of excellent practice within the industry”.

The statement went on to say that “Lindar Media shares the Commission’s commitment to improve compliance standards across the industry and continues to work proactively with the Gambling Commission to ensure these oversights are not repeated”.

In a tweet reacting to the news, The Big Step - a campaign to end gambling advertising and sponsorship in football - described MrQ.com as "another unsafe gambling company unfit to be on a shirt".

Watford FC declined to comment.