Rank Group Reaches £5m Settlement with UK Gambling Commission for AML and Social Responsibility Shortcomings

The Rank Group has agreed to a £5m regulatory settlement with the UK Gambling Commission after an investigation revealed anti-money laundering and social responsibility failings. The LSE-listed business owns the Grosvenor Casino, Mecca Bingo and Enracha brands. It revealed in its full-year results in August that it had already set aside this exact amount, so the payment will have no impact on group profits or share price.

This continues a recent clampdown on AML failings by the Commission. Bet St George and BresBet recently had their licences suspended and later ceased trading due to the same missteps. Ken Howells has also had its licence suspended, while QuinnBet was ordered to pay £609,104. All of these cases have followed the Commission placing the UK’s gambling software sector at a ‘medium risk’ of money laundering and terrorist financing in early August.

Failings Identified in Grosvenor Casino Venues

The Commission’s investigation focused on the company’s 51 Grosvenor Casino venues in the UK. The Commission found that Grosvenor had failed to update its policies to incorporate changes from the 2020 Money Laundering Regulations, leading to incorrect customer risk ratings. Venue management was granted decision-making freedom without sufficient central compliance oversight. This allowed customers with higher money laundering risks to play without adequate Source of Funds or Source of Wealth checks.

Policies around cryptocurrency at Rank Group’s Grosvenor venues had a lack of clarity. Staff only had to verify that crypto had been converted into fiat currency without scrutinising the origins or legitimacy of the assets. Rank Group employees classified a Chinese student and crypto users as ‘standard risk’ despite internal policies mandating higher risk categorisation and immediate enhanced due diligence.

Social responsibility failings included one returning customer losing £200,000 across two visits without adequate photographic ID or proof of income on file. Another case revealed that a user won around £260,000 and subsequently lost £250,000 of that over 12 days without any safer gambling interactions being logged. Rank Group stated that remedial actions have been substantially completed.

Regulatory Warning to Land-Based Operators

Sue Young, Executive Director of Operations at the Gambling Commission, said: “Larger enforcement cases are often associated with online gambling but, as today’s announcement shows, the risks of anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures are equally alive in the land-based sector.” She added that all premises-based operators should review the case to avoid the same mistakes and costly Commission action. The Commission further stated that gambling operators should take account of the failings identified in this investigation to ensure industry learning.

This settlement, according to reporting by SBC News, will not help Rank Group and its Chief Executive Officer Richard Harris in lobbying against a doubling in Machine Games Duty. Harris recently warned that the hike may wipe out a third of Rank Group’s portfolio.

Reporting: SBC News

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