The review of the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) into Aspers Stratford City Casino has found that the company failed to comply with some anti-money laundering and player protection rules.
In December 2018, the UK gambling regulatory body started a review in the operating licence of Aspers Stratford after becoming aware of the circumstances of a person who took their own life after visiting a London-based casino operated by the company.
After the review started, the UKGC looked at the casino operator’s compliance with regulatory rules and, unfortunately, found certain failures in the way in which Aspers Stratford managed its customer interaction and social responsibility protocols under which the aforementioned customer was able to make several unaddressed cash purchases. In addition, the gambling watchdog found some weaknesses in the anti-money laundering procedures of the company.
The UKGC has taken a number of actions against the gambling operator in line with the regulatory framework. The watchdog has issued a warning to Aspers Stratford for violations associated with failures to stay in line with customer interaction regulation, anti-money laundering processes and violations of cash desk policy rules. Apart from that, the UK Gambling Commission imposed a monetary penalty of £652,500 on the casino, and Aspers Stratford will have to divest a further £78,233 of its gross gambling yield.
As a result of the measures that the UK gambling regulator took against the company, Aspers Stratford is set to undertake an independent audit of its procedures and policies within six months in order to make sure that it brings effective improvements to prevent similar violations in the future.
Aspers Launched Internal Investigation after Casino Patron’s Tragic Death
Apart from the aforementioned measures taken by the UKGC against the casino operator, Aspers UK Holdings Limited rolled out an urgent internal investigation following the death of its customer on November 12th, 2018 in order to identify and implement any improvements to its existing procedures and policies. As a result of an internal report, Aspers Stratford has made some changes to its customer interaction, social responsibility and anti-money laundering policies.
The chief executive officer of the UKGC, Neil McArthur, described the suicide of the casino customer as a tragic case and further noted that both the police and the coroner investigated the circumstances of the death. As the major regulatory body for the local gambling industry, the Commission examined how the casino had managed the customer’s case and found some failures regarding Aspers’ customer interaction, social responsibility and anti-money laundering procedures.
Mr McArthur noted that the gambling regulator intends to monitor the casino operator’s future conduct, especially considering the fact that the tragic case involving the death of the casino patron highlighted the importance of why all gambling companies need to have clear policies in place. The sufficient and correct training of casino staff and its importance for spotting signs of problem gambling, unusual patterns of play and gambling-related harm has also been highlighted by the Aspers Stratford case.
- Author
Olivia Cole
