An online betting firm has been fined £442,750 for demanding ID from winning punters before it would give them the cash, while failing to carry out similar checks on potentially vulnerable people depositing money.

The Gambling Commission punished TonyBet, which is based in Estonia but has a licence to operate in Great Britain, for imposing unfair terms and failures in anti-money laundering and social responsibility measures.

The online casino told customers it had the right to request identification documents for “all withdrawals” despite not having insisted on those same checks earlier, potentially hampering withdrawals but not deposits…

The fine highlights a practice that seldom attracts the attention of regulators.