Gambling Commission suspends Leeds casino licence
The regulator is investigating the Victoria Gate Casino in Leeds city centre.
UK.- The Gambling Commission has announced that it has suspended the gambling operating licence of VGC Leeds Limited, the operator of Victoria Gate Casino in Leeds city centre, with immediate effect. The regulator said the licence will remain suspended while it carries out a review of the operator’s activity under section 116 of the Gambling Act 2005 (the Act).
The Leeds casino is located beside the Victoria Shopping Centre in Eastgate. It has 22 live betting tables plus 175 slots and electronic roulette games. The Gambling Commission said that it had concerns that activities may have been carried out contrary to the Gamlbing Act and that the licensee “may be unsuitable to carry on the licensed activities”.
The decision was made after a recent Compliance Assessment. The regulator said VGC Leeds Limited is “reasonably believed to have failed to maintain and implement effective anti-money laundering policies, procedures, and controls, as required under the conditions of their licence”.
It added that “serious concerns were identified regarding the adequacy of decision-making processes and the Licensee’s response to identified anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing risks, raising questions about the overall effectiveness of its governance and risk management arrangements.
“These failings are considered significant and represent a serious threat to the licensing objectives, in particular keeping crime out of gambling. We have made it clear to the operator that during the suspension, we expect it to focus on treating consumers fairly and keeping them fully informed of any developments which impact them.”
It’s the second licence suspension that the Gambling Commission has announced this week. Just yesterday, the regulator announced that it had suspended the gaming software licence of Spribe OÜ while it carries out a review. In this case, the alleged serious non-compliance is related to hosting requirements, with Spribe believed to have conducted B2B activity not covered under the scope of its licence by hosting online casino games.
Spribe has described the issue as a “technical licensing gap” not identified during the original application process in 2020”. It said it is preparing an application to vary its existing licence to add remote casino game host activities.
