Three prominent land-based casino operators under Rank Group PLC have reached a settlement exceeding £5 million ($6.6 million) after the Gambling Commission highlighted serious deficiencies in their anti-money laundering (AML) and safer gambling controls.
This settlement, announced on Wednesday, involves Grosvenor Casinos Limited, Grosvenor Casinos (GC) Limited, and Gaming Group Limited. Together, these companies manage 51 casinos throughout Great Britain and are set to contribute £5,012,261 to the government's consolidated fund.
In addition to the financial settlement, Rank Group has agreed to undergo a third-party audit to evaluate the implementation of its AML and social responsibility policies.
The Gambling Commission commenced a licence review under Section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005 following reports and intelligence concerning these operators. A targeted compliance assessment conducted in June 2023 revealed notable systemic lapses in both AML and safer gambling processes.
The investigation uncovered several AML failures, including the operators’ inability to update their AML policies in accordance with the UK Money Laundering Regulations revised in 2020. This oversight led to some customers being misclassified and not identified as higher-risk individuals. Moreover, managers at various locations made discretionary decisions without adequate guidance, compromising thorough verification of customer funds and sources of wealth.
The policies also lacked sufficient clarity regarding the acceptance of cryptocurrency as a legitimate funding source. Staff members accepted cryptocurrencies that were converted to sterling bank deposits without performing necessary provenance checks. Moreover, the operators irregularly neglected to conduct enhanced due diligence as required for clients like students from high-risk areas or those showing unusual funding behaviors.
In terms of safer gambling practices, staff did not consistently intervene with customers displaying signs of gambling harm. One case noted involved a customer losing approximately £50,000 without any recorded intervention. Another long-time customer won around £260,000 only to lose £250,000 within 12 days without protection measures being initiated. Additionally, there was a case of a returning customer who lost £25,000 before any intervention took place.
The report pointed out the reliance on low-level interventions without evaluating their effectiveness, as well as delays in escalating responses, such as imposing gambling limits or restricting debit card payments. These breaches contravened specific licence conditions and social responsibility code provisions (LCCP), primarily the duty to mitigate the risk of gambling being exploited for criminal activity.
Grosvenor Casinos confirmed acceptance of the findings and the settlement from the Gambling Commission. Sue Young, the executive director of operations at the Gambling Commission, underscored that the enforcement action demonstrated the significant AML and safer gambling risks present in land-based operations, paralleling those in online segments. "Larger enforcement cases are often linked with online gambling, but today’s announcement makes it clear that the risks associated with AML and social responsibility failures exist in the land-based sector as well," she stated, advising other retail operators to thoroughly reassess their compliance protocols.
In their 2026 risk assessment report on AML, the Gambling Commission flagged operator-side failings as a significant issue, citing overall inadequate AML/CTF policies, controls, and poorly trained personnel across various subsectors. Rank Group’s Grosvenor Casinos Limited has faced compliance scrutiny from 2024 through 2025. Rank disclosed during its 2025 full-year earnings call that it would be adding a £5 million provision to its accounts in anticipation of the regulatory settlement. The group also emphasized having quickly implemented corrective actions and fully cooperated with the Commission during its investigation, factors which the regulator recognized as mitigative in setting the settlement terms.
