The gambling industry of the UK was mainly marked by actions taken by the UK Gambling Commission to regulate several land-based casinos. Five different casinos were found to have some serious failings in sectors like social responsibility and anti-money laundering.
Last week, the Gambling Commission also published its three-year Corporate Strategy and annual Business Plan. The regulatory body shared its future plans for further regulation of the gambling industry in the country to ensure better safety for vulnerable individuals.
Five Land-Based Casinos Face Regulations from the UK Gambling Commission
After the Gambling Commission conducted investigations on the operations of several casinos, five operators were accused of not following the proper social responsibility and anti-money laundering regulations. As a result of the assessments carried out by the Commission, the licenses of the five casinos will be reviewed.
The five casinos that were investigated by the Gambling Commission include Clockfair Limited, Shaftesbury Casino Limited, Les Croupiers Casino Limited, Double Diamond Gaming Limited, and A&S Leisure Group Limited. Due to the failings of the five companies, both Clockfair Limited and Shaftesbury Casino Limited will have to pay a regulatory settlement of £260,000. Meanwhile, Les Croupiers Casino Limited is required to pay a regulatory settlement of £202,500, while Double Diamond Gaming Limited will have to pay £247,000 as a regulatory settlement. The Gambling Commission issued a warning towards A&S Leisure Group Limited which will also pay a fine of £377,340.
The findings from the investigation on Clockfair revealed that the casino failed to recognise customers who at gambling-related risk. A casino customer who registered in 2015 accumulated losses of £58,830 for the period between 2018 and 2019. While the casino interacted with the customer at the end of that 12-month period, they assured the casino they were okay with their betting limits and overall play. At the same time, the casino found that the customer suffered losses of about £100,000 for their two companies. Despite that, the casino took no further actions. There were also other failings in social responsibility as well as anti-money laundering.
Some of Shaftesbury failings include no responsible gambling interactions with customers who might have been at risk of gambling addiction. There were also key failings in the anti-money laundering policy of the casino. The shortcomings of the company include no checks of sources of funds for specific customers or failings in proper assessment of sources of funds of other customers.
The Commission’s assessment of Les Croupiers’ operations revealed that the company had several failings in social responsibility. One example of that was a 22 years old customer who was left to lose about £20,000 over six months. The casino took no preventive measures due to an assumption that the customer, who was verified as a company director, can afford such losses. The casino also failed to properly assess the source of funds of several customers, adding to the anti-money laundering failings of Les Croupiers.
Double Diamond was also found to have weaknesses in its communication with customers and providing proper tools for safer gambling. There were also instances of customers failing to verify their sources of funds and still being allowed to play at the casino. Meanwhile, A&S Leisure Group Limited received an official warning and financial penalty due to failings in the prevention of money laundering and establishing the proper risk-sensitive policies and measures.
The UK Gambling Commission Shares Corporate Strategy for Better Protection of Individuals
Last week, the Gambling Commission published its three-year Corporate Strategy that revealed further regulation of the gambling industry to ensure better protection from gambling-related harm.
The five main aspects that will be the focus of the regulator for the next three years include protection of children and vulnerable individuals exposed to gambling-related risks, a fairer gambling market and better gambling information for consumers as well as preventing gambling-related crimes. Other key factors of the new strategy include the optimisation of returns to charities and good causes thanks to the National Lottery and improving the regulation of the gambling industry in the UK.
The Commission will continue to protect children and vulnerable individuals by improving the License Conditions and Codes of Practice that gambling operators should follow. The regulator will also concentrate on ensuring a fairer gambling environment by requiring operators to make information easily accessible by customers.
The Gambling Commission also ensured that it will continue to fight unlicensed operators that offer illegal gambling to UK consumers. Meanwhile, as the National Lottery makes some of the biggest contributions to good causes each year, the Commission ensured that it will continue to work on the effective management of the National Lottery. While the Gambling Commission went through several changes in the past year to improve gambling regulation in the UK, the regulatory body promised to continue its efforts to protect the public and ensure a safer gambling environment.