Five land-based casinos – Clockfair Limited, Shaftesbury Casino Limited, Double Diamond Gaming Limited, Les Croupiers Casino Limited and A&S Leisure Group Limited – have faced enforcement regulatory action after the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) assessed their businesses.
All of the casinos were found to have failed to stay in line with anti-money laundering and social responsibility requirements set by the UK gambling watchdog. Because of these findings, the UKGC put their operating licences under review.
The Executive Director of the UK gambling regulator, Richard Watson, explained that the failures were identified as part of the watchdog’s ongoing efforts to raise standards across the country’s gambling sector. He further noted that every gambling company that offers its services in the UK must make sure they are following rules that apply to make gambling safer and prevent any crimes to be associated with it.
As announced by the UK Gambling Commission, a £377,340 fine has been received by A&S Leisure Group Limited. A £260,000 regulatory settlement is set to be paid by both Clockfair Limited and Shaftesbury Casino Limited. Furthermore, Double Diamond Gaming Limited will pay a regulatory settlement worth £247,000, while a regulatory settlement of £202,500 will be paid by Les Croupiers Casino Limited.
Regulatory Settlement Fines between £377,340 and £202,500 Imposed by UKGC on Casino Companies
The land-based casino operator facing the largest regulatory fine of £377,340 was A&S Leisure Group Limited, with the company also facing a warning from the UKGC. The Gambling Commission found that the licensee violated paragraphs 2 and 3 of its licence condition 12.1.1 associated with anti-money launder. It also failed to comply with the code of practice under section 24 of the Gambling Act of 2005, which was intended to be treated as a licence condition associated with social responsibility and customer interaction.
As mentioned above, the UKGC found that both Clockfair Limited and Shaftesbury Casino Limited have breached their licence condition 12.1.1 related to anti-money laundering and the Social Responsibility code provision 3.4.1. Both companies were found to have failed to identify customers at risk of being affected by gambling-related harm and to have failed to implement appropriate anti-money laundering measures under their licence condition 12.1.1 related to the prevention of terrorist financing and money laundering. The two land-based casino companies were forced to pay a regulatory settlement estimated at £260,000.
The key failures found by the UKGC in the activities of Double Diamond Gaming Limited were associated with the licensee’s operating licence condition 12.1.1 related to anti-money laundering, as well as two failures associated with safer gambling, and more specifically – with Social Responsibility code provisions 3.4.1 and 3.5.1. The regulatory settlement between the watchdog and the company consists of a £247,000 payment in lieu of a financial penalty, a £24,530 payment of the Commission’s investigation costs, as well as an agreement to the publication of the statement associated with the case.
Last but not least, Les Croupiers Casino Limited was the fifth casino operator that suffered the UKGC enforcement action following revelations of some failures. The company was found to have breached its licence condition 12.1.1 (3) related to anti-money laundering and the Social Responsibility code provision 3.4.1 as it did not manage to implement safer gambling controls. It was forced to pay a regulatory settlement of £202,500.
- Author
Olivia Cole
