Casino owner Rank Group PLC (LON:RNK) has been fined £500,000 for failing to protect a problem gambler who lost £1mln in a day.
The Gambling Commission said its investigation found that Rank failed to interact with a customer who was displaying problematic behaviour, contacted him during a self-exclusion period and did not follow rules for the provision of credit.
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The customer lost £1mln in one 24-hour period at a Grosvenor Casino owned by Rank.
Richard Watson, executive director of the Gambling Commission, said: “No matter how wealthy customers are, operators still need to monitor them effectively to ensure they aren’t showing signs of problem gambling. It is certainly not appropriate to visit customers during a period when they are self-excluded."
He added: “This penalty package would have been a lot higher were it not for the positive action Rank took in terms of self-reporting their failures and being open and transparent during our investigation.”
Rank also owns Mecca Bingo and operates online gaming and betting.