UKGC Suspends Ken Howell’s Sports Betting Over AML Failings

The Gambling Commission has suspended the online license of Targetlocal Ltd, the company that trades as Ken Howell’s Sports Betting and runs kenhowells.com. The regulator said on September 21 that its inquiries had revealed anti-money laundering failings, and the suspension took effect immediately.

The license covers the whole online business, which offers casino games, sports betting and virtual event betting under combined remote operating license number 000422-R-336567-002. The Commission is now reviewing that license under section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005, and the suspension stays in place until it is satisfied the business is compliant.

Balances Can Still Come Out

The suspension does not lock players out. The Commission said Targetlocal can still let customers access their accounts and withdraw funds, and that the business can be contacted through its website.

The regulator also told the operator it is expected to treat consumers fairly during the suspension and keep them fully informed of anything that affects them. That’s standard wording in these notices, but it matters here, because a suspended operator still has money sitting in customer accounts.

That pot is big across the market. The Commission’s industry statistics, published four days before this notice, put funds held in online customer accounts at £886.6m at the end of March, across 2,154 licensed operators. Anyone who’s worried about their own betting in the meantime can find help through responsible gambling tools.

The Offline License Is Untouched

Only the online operation is caught by this. The Commission said the suspension does not impact Targetlocal’s non-remote general betting standard license, which is the separate license for betting that doesn’t happen online.

A Family Bookmaker From Swansea

This isn’t one of the big offshore names. Companies House records show Targetlocal Limited was incorporated on November 14, 1991, with a registered office in Killay, Swansea, and gambling and betting activities as its business. Kenneth Grant Howells has been a director and the company secretary since March 19, 1992.

The spelling can trip people up. The Commission’s notice calls the brand Ken Howell’s, while the family name on the company record is Howells. It’s the same business.

What the Law Allows Next

Section 116 lets the Commission review a license when it has reason to suspect activity has been carried on outside the conditions of that license. Section 118 lets it suspend a license during a review if it suspects the grounds for action may apply, and a suspended license has “no effect in respect of anything done” while it’s suspended.

Before a review under that section starts, the Commission has to notify the licensee and explain the procedure, and the operator must get a chance to make representations. The review can end in several ways. Under section 117, the Commission can give a warning, add conditions to the license, suspend it, revoke it or impose a financial penalty.

Weeks After BresBet and Bet St George

The Commission’s AML guidance treats casino operators, online ones included, as a separate case with their own specific requirements, and Targetlocal’s online license includes casino games. Every operator also has to carry out its own money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessment, and the Commission published its own sector-wide version for 2026.

Surrendered Within a Week

The wording of this notice mirrors one the Commission issued on August 28, when it suspended BresBet Ltd and Bet St George Ltd after inquiries revealed suspected social responsibility and anti-money laundering failings. Those two also faced a section 116 review with the same promise that customers could withdraw.

A week later, on September 4, BresBet and Bet St George surrendered their operating licenses. The Commission reminded both that it expects operators to have plans in place and take every necessary step so that customers are not unnecessarily disadvantaged when a business closes.

For Targetlocal, the section 116 review is still open, and its online license stays suspended until the Commission is satisfied.