Gambling Commission regulator penalizes five land-based casino operators
In the United Kingdom and the Gambling Commission regulator has reportedly hit five land-based casino operators with fines totalling just over £1.34 million ($1.84 million) for failings in their social responsibility and anti-money laundering protocols.
According to a report from iGamingBusiness.com, the penalties came after the watchdog conducted a routine review into the licenses of A&S Leisure Group Limited, Shaftesbury Casino Limited, Clockfair Limited, Double Diamond Gaming Limited and Les Croupiers Casino Limited in October of 2019. The source explained that all five were found to have breached provision 12.1.1 of the regulator’s code in failing to carry out effective anti-money laundering risk assessments.
Pricey punishment:
A&S Leisure Group Limited is responsible for the Napoleons Casino chain of British casinos and it was reportedly penalized to the tune of £377,340 ($517,680) after being adjudged to have additionally breached section 3.4.1 of the watchdog’s Social Responsibility Code, which obliges operators to interact with customers exhibiting behaviors associated with problem gambling. Although the Sheffield-headquartered firm’s specific infractions were not detailed, the watchdog purportedly stated that it had ‘co-operated with the investigation and made no attempt to conceal the failure or breach following [our] engagement’.
Communication catastrophe:
Shaftesbury Casino Limited runs the small Shaftesbury Casino in the Birmingham suburb of West Bromwich and reportedly agreed a regulatory settlement of £260,000 ($356,680) after admitting multiple failings including not interacting with a customer who lost £219,788 ($301,560) over the course of six years from 2013. The operator’s anti-money laundering systems were also purportedly found wanting as it had conducted only open-source proof-of-funding checks for another punter who had instantly deposited £2 million ($2.74 million).
Discreet disclosure:
For its part and Clockfair Limited, which operates Birmingham’s Broadway Casino, reportedly agreed an analogous penalty after the Gambling Commission found a number of social responsibility failings including permitting a company director who it knew had lost more than £100,000 ($137,210) the previous year to gamble away an additional £360,000 ($493.960). This firm was moreover criticized for allowing another punter to lodge wagers even after he had admitted to placing his business under the name of a relative so as to avoid losing it through gambling debts.
Thin threshold:
The owner of Les Croupiers Casino in the Welsh city of Cardiff, Les Croupiers Casino Limited, reportedly agreed a £202,500 ($277,800) settlement after the regulator discovered that it had permitted a 22-year-old punter to lose approximately £20,000 ($27,430) in only six months. This operator was additionally purportedly chastised after a second player was allowed to set a £20,000 monthly loss limit despite his bank statement showing a balance of less than £5,000 ($6,860).
Notification negligence:
Finally, Birmingham-headquartered Double Diamond 
Gaming Limited was reportedly hit with a £247,000 ($338,830) financial penalty after one of its customers was allowed to squander £46,000 ($63,110) at the tables before having their account suspended. The operator behind the United Kingdom’s Rainbow Casino chain of casinos was furthermore purportedly slammed for permitting another punter with an in-house turnover of £152,155 ($208,770) to visit one of its locations on 90 separate occasions despite being unable to provide adequate source-of-funds information.
Supplementary steps:
The Gambling Commission, which last week fined online casino operator Casumo Services Limited to the tune of £6 million ($8.24 million) for similar failings, reportedly divulged that all five of the newly-penalized firms have agreed to review and update their anti-money laundering protocols. It purportedly revealed that Double Diamond Gaming Limited has now additionally instituted a policy of only allowing registered members to gamble within its properties.