Leeds-based Victoria Gate Casino to pay £450k UKGC regulatory settlement

Victoria Gate Casino (VGC) in Leeds has been imposed with a Gambling Commission (UKGC) penalty worth £450,000 after the regulator discovered social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) failures. Trading as Global Gaming Ventures, the casino will pay the penalty as part of a regulatory settlement. The UKGC investigated VGC’s handling of 10 customers following concerns identified at a compliance assessment in July 2019. The investigation discovered that VGC failed to identify and manage customers who were at higher risk of money laundering and gambling-related harm. On 24 October 2019, the UKGC sent a notice to VGC notifying the operator of a review of its operating licence. That review revealed VGC had breached the conditions of its operating licence. Following the investigation, VGC accepted that it failed to act in accordance with the conditions of its operating licence between January 2017 and July 2019. For example, one customer incurred losses of £275,000 over 22 months before VGC requested source of funds evidence. When the source of funds information was finally sought, the operator relied on a tax account which it considered supported income of £217,391 which the UKGC said did not support the affordability of the customer’s losses. To establish the source of wealth, the operator also relied on the customer being the main shareholder for a dormant company and the fact that the customer’s firm had undertaken construction work at its premises. Furthermore, the licensee accepts it failed to record customer interactions and its rational for decisions on the customer’s profile as required by its own policy. “These failings were identified as part of our ongoing drive to raise standards across the whole gambling industry,” said UKGC executive director Helen Venn. “All operators should be very aware that we will not hesitate to take action against those who fail to follow rules that are in place to make gambling safer and prevent it being a source of crime. “Consumer protection should be an operator’s main priority and we would advise every gambling business to read today’s public statement so they do not make the same mistakes as VGC,” Venn added. VGC has agreed to pay £241,000 to represent divestment of the amount of financial gain accrued as a result of the failings and £209,000 in lieu of a financial penalty. It will also pay commission costs of £21,578.17.