Rank shares fall after £5m Gambling Commission settlement

(Sharecast News) - Shares in Rank Group slipped on Wednesday after the Gambling Commission said three of its casino businesses would pay £5m over anti-money laundering and social responsibility failings. The settlement relates to Grosvenor Casinos Limited, Grosvenor Casinos (GC) Limited and Gaming Group Limited, which together operate 51 casinos across Great Britain.

The regulator said shortcomings included outdated AML policies, inconsistent treatment of higher-risk customers and failures to carry out enhanced due diligence when required.

It also highlighted a number of safer-gambling failures, including cases where customers suffered substantial losses without appropriate intervention. In one instance, no interaction took place while a customer lost £50,000, while another customer lost around £250,000 over 12 days after previously winning about £260,000.

The three businesses will also undergo an independent audit of their AML and safer gambling controls.

Rank said separately that the £5m settlement had already been provided for in its 2025/26 accounts, meaning there would be no further impact on profits. It added that remedial measures were now substantially complete.

"Larger enforcement cases are often associated with online gambling but, as today's announcement shows, the risks of anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures are equally alive in the land-based sector," said Sue Young, the Gambling Commission's executive director of operations.