The Gambling Commission has announced a regulatory settlement of £5 million with The Rank Group following an investigation that uncovered significant lapses in anti-money laundering (AML) practices and social responsibility across three of its brands.
Operators under Rank, including Grosvenor Casinos Limited, Grosvenor Casinos (GC) Limited, and Gaming Group Limited, will be subject to a third-party audit to ensure that their AML and safer gambling protocols are effectively enforced.
All proceeds from the £5 million settlement will be allocated to the government’s consolidated fund.
Sue Young, Executive Director of Operations at the Gambling Commission, remarked, “While larger enforcement actions are often linked to online gambling, today’s announcement highlights that the risks associated with AML and social responsibility failures are equally present in the land-based sector.”
She advised all operators with physical premises to closely examine this case to avoid similar pitfalls that could lead to costly regulatory actions.
The Gambling Commission identified several AML shortcomings at Rank, including:
- Failure to update AML policies in accordance with the 2020 Money Laundering Regulations.
- Inconsistent application of AML policies, leading to varying decisions for customers deemed at higher risk for money laundering.
- Ambiguous policies that resulted in inappropriate risk assessments for high-risk customers and funds.
- Neglecting to conduct enhanced due diligence checks when required by their own policies.
Rank's social responsibility failures included:
- Not engaging in safer gambling discussions with a customer who lost £50,000.
- Lack of records for safer gambling interactions with a customer who won approximately £260,000 and subsequently lost around £250,000 in just 12 days.
- Failing to interact with a returning customer after self-exclusion until they had lost £25,000.
The Gambling Commission noted that Rank has promptly implemented corrective measures and fully cooperated throughout the investigation.
In its full-year trading statement released in July, Rank disclosed a proposed £5 million regulatory settlement with the Gambling Commission as a substitute for a financial penalty related to past issues in its Grosvenor venues.
On May 20, the operator submitted a settlement proposal following the initial findings from the commission regarding its Grosvenor Casino operating license. The settlement amount was determined based on its gross gambling yield from November 1, 2024, to May 1, 2025.
Richard Harris, CEO of Rank Group, commented in July, “We have worked constructively with the Gambling Commission to resolve historical compliance issues, and significant remedial actions were implemented during the first half of 2025/26.”
In light of today’s announcement confirming the settlement, Rank stated, “The Group confirms that it has accepted a £5 million regulatory settlement after the Gambling Commission’s review. There will be no further impact on the Group’s profits.”
Rank is set to release its Q1 trading statement for FY26/27 on October 15.