Rank Group casinos pay £5m for gambling failures
Watchdog finds failures in anti-money laundering and social responsibility duties across 51 venues.
Three casino operators owned by the Rank Group will pay £5 million after the gambling watchdog identified a series of due diligence failures. The Gambling Commission found that Grosvenor Casinos Limited, Grosvenor Casinos (GC) Limited and Gaming Group Limited, which operate 51 casinos across Britain, failed to meet anti-money laundering and social responsibility duties.
The regulator’s investigation revealed unclear policies, procedures and controls that led to inappropriate risk levels being assigned to high-risk customers and high-risk sources of funds being used without appropriate scrutiny. Examples cited included customers using cryptocurrency assets as a source of funds and a student from China, neither of whom were ascribed higher than standard risk levels. The commission stated that enhanced due diligence checks should have been carried out in these instances.
Safer Gambling Lapses
The investigation also identified instances where staff did not engage in safer gambling interactions with customers who appeared to be at risk of harm. One case highlighted a long-standing customer who won approximately £260,000 in a short period and subsequently lost around £250,000 over 12 days. During this time, no safer gambling interactions were recorded for the customer.
“We would advise all premises-based operators to take a careful look at this case and ensure their own business is not making the same mistakes and, therefore, they do not face costly and inevitable commission action.”
The Rank Group, a FTSE-listed business, also operates Mecca bingo halls and online casinos. The Gambling Commission has advised all premises-based operators to review their practices in light of this case to avoid similar regulatory action.
Questions this report answers
01Why are Rank Group casinos paying £5 million?
Three casino operators owned by the Rank Group are paying £5 million because the Gambling Commission found failures in their anti-money laundering and social responsibility duties. These included inadequate customer due diligence and insufficient scrutiny of high-risk funds.
02What specific failures did the Gambling Commission find?
The commission found unclear policies and controls that led to inappropriate risk assessments for high-risk customers and funds. This included instances involving cryptocurrency and a customer identified as a student from China, where enhanced checks should have been applied.
03What does the Gambling Commission advise other operators to do?
The Gambling Commission advises all premises-based operators to carefully review this case. They should ensure their own businesses are not making similar mistakes to avoid facing costly regulatory action.
Support is available without a police report
Find London services, specialist support and the rights set out in the Victims’ Code. If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.
Find victim supportSend a correction or case update
If a hearing, charge or outcome has changed, send the court, case number and source document so we can update the record.
Contact the desk
