The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has taken action against five land-based casinos in the country.
Four venues have agreed regulatory settlements with the governing body, while another has been hit with a fine.
The UKGC found anti-money laundering shortcomings at each casino, in addition to a failure to upkeep social responsibility.
Which casinos are in trouble with the UKGC?
One operator was fined: A&S Leisure Group. The company operates Napoleons Casinos. A&S was hit with a £377,340 penalty and warned about future conduct by the Commission.
Meanwhile, Shaftesbury Casino and Clockfair Limited will both need to part ways with £260,000 each in regulatory settlements. The duo operate Broadway Casino, located in Birmingham.
Another venue located in Birmingham – Rainbow Casino, operated by Double Diamond Gaming – will pay £247,000 in regulatory settlements.
Meanwhile, Cardiff’s Les Croupiers Casino will pay a settlement of £202,500.
In all cases, Social Responsibility Code provision 3.4.1 was breached. As part of this provision, licensed operators and venues are obliged to carry out certain policies and procedures when a player shows signs of problem gambling.
What else were the casinos in hot water for?
All five casinos had also been found to violate Licence Code provision 12.1.1. Under these rules, venues are required to perform high-quality risk assessments related to anti-money laundering.
The UKGC reviewed all five venue licences in October 2019.
Commission Executive Director Richard Watson said:
“These failings were identified as part of our ongoing drive to raise standards across the whole gambling industry.
“Every single operator must ensure they are following rules that are in place to make gambling safer and prevent it being a source of crime,” he continued.
The five venues have since agreed to update their anti-money laundering policies. They will also look again at their social policy procedures.
Meanwhile, Double Diamond has said that only customers registering as members will be allowed to gamble at the Rainbow Casino.
Clamping down
Recently, the UKGC has also clamped down on social responsibility failings in the world of online gambling too.
Casumo was handed a £6 million fine earlier this month, also for anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures.
Similarly, Casumo’s fine is related to not having effective interaction procedures for when a player might be showing problem gambling tendencies.
