Online-gambling giants conquer U.S. with tactics deemed too tough for Britain

In 2018, British regulators sanctioned the UK arm of online gambling giant Flutter (FLTRF.L) after it failed to catch an astonishing anomaly. The head of an animal shelter had been embezzling money from his employer to fund his bets, losing what the charity said was more than half a million dollars over four years. The gambling watchdog forced Flutter to pay about $2.8 million for not protecting customers from obviously uncontrolled gambling and not stopping the use of stolen money.

Flutter’s Chief Executive Peter Jackson publicly apologized for failing to intervene, saying...