The United Kingdom, October 7, 2026: three operators owned by The Rank Group Plc agreed to pay £5,012,261 to the UK Gambling Commission after an investigation found serious failures in anti-money laundering controls and player protection. The companies involved are Grosvenor Casinos Limited, Grosvenor Casinos (GC) Limited and Gaming Group Limited, which together operate 51 casinos across Great Britain.
The review was opened under Section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005 and expanded after a compliance assessment carried out on June 13, 2025. The Commission concluded that Grosvenor breached Licence Conditions 12.1.1(2) and 12.1.1(3) covering AML/CFT controls, as well as Social Responsibility Code Provisions 3.4.1(1)(b), 3.4.1(1)(c) and 3.4.1(2) on interactions with at-risk customers. Compliance with those codes forms part of licence conditions under Section 82(1) of the Gambling Act 2005.
The failures included policies that had not been properly updated to reflect 2020 changes to the Money Laundering Regulations, inconsistent source-of-funds and source-of-wealth checks, weaknesses in enhanced due diligence and insufficient scrutiny of cryptocurrency used as a source of funds.
Cliff Baty
One customer lost around £200,000 across two visits without sufficient documentation; another moved £85,000 in cash over 11 weeks; one player lost £50,000 without a safer-gambling intervention; another won about £260,000 and then lost £250,000 in 12 days; and another returned after self-exclusion and lost £25,000 before receiving an intervention.
Sue Young, Executive Director of Operations, warned that AML and social-responsibility risks are just as relevant in land-based casinos as they are online. The Gambling Commission is chaired by Ruth Evans, with Sarah Gardner serving as Acting CEO. Rank, led by Richard Harris with Cliff Baty as interim CFO, must also undergo an independent external audit within six months, publish a statement of facts and cover the investigation costs. The £5.01 million payment will go to the Government Consolidated Fund.
