Casino visited problem gambler who then lost £1m in 24 hours
A CASINO manager visited the home of a problem gambler as part of efforts to keep him in touch with the casino, before he went on to lose £1 million in a 24-hour period.
A Gambling Commission investigation revealed how a general manager of Grosvenor Casinos, owned by Rank Group, visited the player at his overseas home during a self-exclusion period.
It also found that the casino’s online gambling site did not follow rules around providing the player credit.
The commission fined Rank Group £500,000, accusing it of “falling into the trap of thinking VIP customers don’t experience problems” when gambling.
The investigation found that in 2016 the customer took a period of self-exclusion from the casino. The tool is requested by players who feel they are having trouble controlling their gambling and request the operator refuse their service for an agreed period.
But during this period a general manager from Grosvenor Casinos, which operates in Mayfair, called upon the customer at his home in a “networking visit”. The manager then requested the customer being re-installed. However, Rank refused the request.
On a separate occasion in 2017, Rank provided the customer with credit, despite its policy stating funds cannot be offered to online customers. The investigation found that when the customer encountered delays trying to transfer offshore funds to his UK bank, a request was sent by the customer’s VIP manager to senior Rank members of staff requesting online credit.
After receiving the funds, the gambler then went on to lose £1million of the credit over one 24-hour period.
Richard Watson, executive director of the Gambling Commission, said: “We expect operators to protect consumers who may be experiencing problems, and they shouldn’t fall into the trap of thinking that VIP customers don’t experience difficulties. No matter how wealthy customers are, operators need to monitor them to ensure they aren’t showing signs of problem gambling.”
The customer was also known to have self-excluded once before prior to 2015. But following the self-exclusion and home visit in 2016, the casino focused on his assertions that he was “comfortable with his level of spend” rather than on his gambling behaviour. An enforced break was placed on the customer in 2017.
Rank brought the issue to the commission’s attention.
Mr Watson concluded: “This penalty would have been higher were it not for Rank self-reporting and being open and transparent.”
A Rank spokesman said: “We accept that our responsible gambling processes and controls were insufficient regarding this case. Since this, we have worked hard to improve our processes and controls to avoid such a scenario reoccurring.”