The UK Gambling Commission has announced that Caesars Entertainment UK is to pay £13m and must implement a series of improvements following a catalogue of social responsibility, money laundering and customer interaction failures, including those involving VIPs.
As a result of this investigation three senior managers at the company surrendered their personal licences. The regulator’s investigations into Personal Management Licence holders are ongoing.
The land-based gambling business, which operates 11 casinos across Britain, will pay the money following an investigation by the commission which found serious systematic failings in the way the company took decisions about VIP customers between January 2016 and December 2018.
Neil McArthur, chief executive of the Gambling Commission, said: “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.
“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.
“In recent times the online sector has received the greatest scrutiny around VIP practices but VIP practices are found right across the industry and our tough approach to compliance and enforcement will continue, whether a business is on the high street or online.
“We are absolutely clear about our expectations of operators - whatever type of gambling they offer they must know their customers. They must interact with them and check what they can afford to gamble with - stepping in when they see signs of harm. Consumer safety is non-negotiable.”
