Gambling Commission suspends BresBet and Bet St George licences

The United Kingdom’s Gambling Commission has suspended the operating licences of BresBet Ltd and Bet St George Ltd, which operate the bresbet.com and betstgeorge.com websites respectively. The regulatory action took immediate effect on 28 August 2026.

According to the regulator, the decision was made due to suspected failures related to social responsibility protocols and anti-money laundering (AML) controls. The Commission initiated formal licence reviews for both operators under section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005 after initial enquiries flagged potential regulatory shortcomings.

The suspensions will remain active until the companies can prove to the Commission’s satisfaction that the compliance issues have been fully addressed and rectified. During this period, both operators must cease offering gambling services, but are required to allow customers to access their accounts and withdraw any outstanding funds.

Linked Companies and Management Changes

The two suspended businesses share a director, Nic Brereton, and a common office block. For Bet St George, the suspension comes just six months after it launched its operations in the UK earlier this year. BresBet has been active in the market since 2021.

This regulatory action follows recent high-level staff changes. Sarah Laycock, who had been managing director for BresBet since 2025, resigned from her position earlier this month. On the same day, she also resigned from her role at Bet St George. Company director Nic Brereton had previously resigned from BresBet in 2021 before being reappointed to the board in 2023.

Heightened Focus on AML Failings

The suspensions align with the Gambling Commission’s increased scrutiny of AML and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) procedures within the industry. Last month, the regulator published a report which concluded that failings on the part of operators remain a significant contributor to money laundering and terrorist financing risk.

The Commission’s report identified several common issues across multiple sub-sectors, including deficient AML/CTF policies, poorly trained personnel, inadequate AML thresholds, and weak monitoring of linked or duplicate customer accounts.

This enforcement action against BresBet and Bet St George comes only a couple of weeks after the Commission ordered operator QuinnBet to pay £609,104 as part of a regulatory settlement for its own AML failings, signalling a continued crackdown on non-compliance in this area.