Three Rank Group-owned casino operators have agreed to pay more than £5 million after the Gambling Commission (UKGC) identified anti-money laundering and safer-gambling failures across their land-based businesses.

The settlement covers Grosvenor Casinos Limited, Grosvenor Casinos (GC) Limited and Gaming Group Limited, which operate 51 casinos across Great Britain. The companies must also undergo a third-party audit of their AML and social responsibility controls.

The regulatory action followed a licence review and compliance assessment covering failings identified between November 1, 2024 and May 1, 2025.

The settlement totals £5,012,261. Of that amount, £5 million will go to the Government’s Consolidated Fund, while Rank will also contribute toward the regulator’s investigation costs.

AML Failures Included Weak Risk Assessments

The investigation found that the operators had not updated their AML policies to reflect changes to the Money Laundering Regulations introduced in 2020.

It also identified inconsistent treatment of higher-risk customers, unclear procedures for assessing source of funds and failures to complete enhanced due diligence when required.

Cryptocurrency was one area of concern. In some cases, funds originating from crypto were treated as acceptable once converted into sterling without sufficient checks into where the money came from.

One customer lost around £200,000 over two visits even though the operator did not hold adequate photographic identification or evidence of income.

Another customer recycled approximately £85,000 in cash over 11 weeks without their risk rating being increased appropriately. Enhanced due diligence was not adequately completed until the customer had lost around £13,000.

The regulator also found weaknesses involving customers from high-risk jurisdictions and other unusual funding patterns.

Safer-Gambling Checks Were Delayed or Missing

Separate failures involved customer interactions intended to identify and reduce gambling harm.

One customer lost approximately £50,000 without receiving a safer-gambling interaction.

Another won around £260,000 and then lost approximately £250,000 within 12 days, with no recorded safer-gambling interaction during that period.

A customer returning after self-exclusion lost £25,000 before staff intervened.

The Commission also found examples where interactions occurred but their effectiveness was not properly assessed. One customer continued gambling and lost more than £73,000 despite repeated interventions, with no evidence that the operator later reviewed whether those measures had worked.

Another individual lost about £25,000, acknowledged exhausting previous winnings and then lost a further £11,000 over six weeks before the account was suspended.

The failures resulted in breaches of AML licence conditions and social responsibility requirements covering customer interaction.

Rank Accepts Settlement and Audit

The regulator noted that Rank had previously received formal advice about similar issues, which counted against the company during the enforcement process.

Rank nevertheless cooperated fully with the investigation and implemented corrective measures, which the Commission treated as mitigating factors.

Sue Young, Executive Director of Operations, said in a press release:

“Larger enforcement cases are often associated with online gambling but, as today’s announcement shows, the risks of anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures are equally alive in the land-based sector.

“We would advise all premises-based operators to take a careful look at this case and ensure their own business is not making the same mistakes, and therefore they do not face costly and inevitable Commission action.”

Rank had already accounted for a £5 million regulatory settlement after referring to the issues as “historical compliance failures.”

Following completion of the review, the group said the payment would have no additional effect on its profits.

“The group confirms that, following completion of the Gambling Commission’s review, the group has accepted a £5m regulatory settlement in line with the provision,” Rank said. “There is no further impact on the group’s profits.

“As also indicated at the time of the Group’s 2025/26 preliminary results, remedial actions have been substantially completed.”

The required third-party audit will now examine whether the three operators have effectively implemented the updated AML and safer-gambling measures across their casino businesses.