Operator News
UK – Casino 36 hit with penalty package for responsibility breaches
By Phil - 11 July 2019
Personal management licence holders at Casino 36, the operator of casinos in Stockport, Wolverhampton and Dudley, must undertake extra training as part of a £300,000 penalty package for money laundering and social responsibility failures.
A Gambling Commission investigation revealed the operator had failed to ensure adequate customer Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD), Source of Funds (SOF) and Source of Wealth (SOW) checks were carried out for 33 customers. Casino 36 also failed to ensure sufficient customer interaction was taking place when customers were potentially displaying signs of suffering gambling harm.
As part of a settlement the operator will divest £147,741 and make a £152,259 payment in lieu of a financial penalty which the Commission would otherwise impose for breaches of the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice. Casino 36 will also have further conditions added to its licence.
Richard Watson, Commission Executive Director, said: “As a result of Casino 36’s failings, stolen money could have flowed unchecked through their casino and vulnerable customers were placed at risk of harm. This is simply not acceptable. Operators have to understand their customer base. This can only be achieved if they know their customers and ask the right questions to meet both their anti-money laundering and social responsibility obligations.”
A statement from Casino 36 read: “Casino 36 acknowledge certain policies in force at the relevant time were ineffective. It had already evolved those policies, and that process remains ongoing. Casino 36 recognises there have been considerable learnings from these cases and has invested in improving its AML and responsible gambling processes. Casino 36 states it is also committed to working with the industry to raise standards, particularly in relation to safer gambling.”
