The U.K.’s Gaming Commission (UKGC) has ordered Caesars Entertainment U.K. to pay £13 million in fines for eight offenses the regulator has found. The casino operator is accused of ignoring social responsibility failings and a lack of anti-money laundering (AML) checks.
The social failings all involve customers who spent beyond their means, or had tried to self-exclude in the past. One customer lost £240,000 over a 13-month period, but had previously self-excluded, while another lost £323,000 in a 12-month period had had displayed “signs of problem gambling.” Another self-employed nanny lost £18,000 in a year, and had admitted to sourcing funds from family and an overdraft facility. Lastly, a retired postman lost £15,000 in 44 days.
On the AML side, Caesars is accused of not carrying out adequate source of funds checks on £3.5 million, with £1.6 million in losses, from a single customer over a three month span. Another customer was not subjected to customer due diligence (CDD) and lost £240,000 over a 13-month period. One woman, who identified as a waitress, somehow gambled £87,000 and lost £15,000 during a 12-month period. Finally, a politically exposed person (PEP) lost £795,000 during a 13-month period, but Caesars did not look into where he got the funds.
“We have published this case at this time because it’s vitally important that the lessons are factored into the work the industry is currently doing to address poor practices of VIP management in which we must see rapid progress made,” said Neil McArthur, Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission. “The failings in this case are extremely serious. A culture of putting customer safety at the heart of business decisions should be set from the very top of every company and Caesars failed to do this. We will now continue to investigate the individual licence holders involved with the decisions taken in this case.”
The fine, which will go to the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms, is an important lesson to the operator, but not much against their bottom line. In Caesars latest quarterly report, the operator noted $8.74 billion in revenue for of 2019. But even with that healthy income, the company recorded a net loss of $1.2 billion, thanks to $1.37 billion in interest payments on their mountain of debt. The fine won’t help that, but it also doesn’t amount to much in comparison.
