Three gambling businesses owned by William Hill have been hit with a record fine of £19.2 million [$23.7 million] for “widespread and alarming” social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures.

One customer was allowed to open a new account and spend £23,000 in 20 minutes, while another spent £18,000 in 24 hours – both without any checks.

Anti-money laundering (AML) failures included allowing customers to deposit large amounts without conducting appropriate checks. One customer was able to spend and lose £70,134 in a month, another to lose £38,000 in five weeks and another lost £36,000 in four days.

The penalty for the failures is the largest in the Gambling Commission’s history.

WHG (International) Limited, which runs williamhill.com, will pay £12.5 million; Mr Green Limited, which runs mrgreen.com, will pay £3.7 million; and William Hill Organisation Limited, which operates 1,344 gambling premises across Britain, will pay £3 million.