Rank Group PLC, which owns three significant land-based casino entities, has agreed to pay a settlement exceeding £5 million ($6.6 million) following the Gambling Commission's discovery of notable failures in anti-money laundering (AML) and safer gambling measures.
The settlement, finalized on Wednesday, involved Grosvenor Casinos Limited, Grosvenor Casinos (GC) Limited, and Gaming Group Limited. Collectively, these companies operate a total of 51 casinos throughout Great Britain, and they will contribute £5,012,261 to the government’s consolidated fund.
In addition, the group has consented to undergo a third-party audit to ensure the effective execution of AML and social responsibility policies.
The issues prompting this settlement surfaced when the Gambling Commission initiated a licence review under Section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005. Reports and intelligence indicated considerable deficiencies within the operators’ practices, leading to a targeted compliance assessment in June 2025. Findings from the regulator’s report highlighted systemic weaknesses in both AML and safer gambling processes.
Key AML issues included the operators' failure to update their policies to reflect changes in the UK Money Laundering Regulations implemented in 2020. As a result, some customers were not classified as higher-risk when they should have been. Managers at various casinos made discretionary decisions without appropriate guidelines, resulting in inadequate verification of customers' funds or sources of wealth.
Furthermore, policies lacked proper direction regarding cryptocurrency as a potential source of funds. While staff accepted cryptocurrencies once converted to sterling deposits, adequate provenance checks were not performed. The operators also infrequently carried out enhanced due diligence as mandated by their own policies, particularly for customers in high-risk categories or those with unusual funding behaviors.
On the safer gambling front, staff failed to consistently intervene with customers showing signs of gambling harm. The report highlighted one instance where a customer lost around £50,000 without any recorded intervention from staff. Another case involved a long-time customer who won approximately £260,000 but subsequently lost £250,000 within just 12 days, again without any recorded preventive actions. A returning customer lost £25,000 before intervention was initiated.
The report pointed out the ineffective nature of low-level interventions used repeatedly without evaluating their outcomes. Additionally, there were delays in escalating situations, such as implementing betting limits or restricting debit card payments. These oversights violated specific licence conditions and social responsibility code provisions (LCCP), specifically the obligation to prevent gambling from facilitating crime.
Grosvenor Casinos acknowledged the findings and accepted the Gambling Commission's settlement. Sue Young, the Gambling Commission's executive director of operations, stressed that this enforcement highlights the ongoing risks associated with AML and safer gambling not only in online operations but also in land-based venues. She urged retail operators to conduct thorough reviews of their compliance practices.
In its 2026 risk assessment report on AML, the Commission flagged operator-side deficiencies as a significant concern. The regulator noted inadequate AML and counter-terrorism financing policies and poorly trained staff across various subsectors. Rank Group's Grosvenor Casinos Limited's licence faced scrutiny over compliance issues spanning 2024 to 2025, with Rank disclosing its intention to set aside £5 million in its accounts for the anticipated regulatory settlement during its 2025 financial earnings call.
Rank Group emphasized its commitment to immediate corrective actions and full cooperation during the investigation, which the regulator recognized as mitigating factors in resolving the issue.
