The UK Gambling Commission has levied a £300,000 penalty package against Casino 36 and ordered the management of the company to undergo “extra training” for failing to ensure adequate provisions to track the source of money coming from about 33 different customers.
The company was found to have violated provisions for “enhanced-due-diligence”, “source-of-funds,” and source-of-wealth checks carried out for 33 customers. The commission said that the company did not engage properly with customers who displayed potential signs of problem gambling behaviors.
As part of a settlement, the casino operator will divest £147,000 and make a further £152,000 payment in lieu of a financial penalty which the Commission would otherwise impose for breaches of the license conditions and codes of practice. Maintaining its UK operations, the commission said in a press release that Casino 36 management will be sanctioned with further conditions attached to its UK license.
“As a result of Casino 36’s failings stolen money could have flowed unchecked through their casino and vulnerable customers were placed at risk of harm. This is simply not acceptable,” said Richard Watson, Commission Executive Director. “Operators have to understand their customer base. This can only be achieved if they know their customers and ask the right questions to meet both their anti-money laundering and social responsibility obligations.”
