Caesars Entertainment fined record £13 million by Gambling Commission

The Gambling Commission has ordered casino company Caesars Entertainment to pay a record £13 million penalty for failures regarding social responsibility and money laundering, including with VIP customers.

Betway's £11.6m fine from the regulator was a record when issued last month, but that has been broken following systematic failures from Caesars Entertainment – who operate 11 casinos in Britain – and three senior managers have subsequently surrendered their licences.

Those failures involved inadequate safe gambling measures for a retired postman who lost £15,000 in 44 days, while one self-employed nanny lost £18,000 in a year, despite informing staff she had lost savings and was borrowing from family members.

Another customer lost £323,000 in a year, despite signs of problem gambling, which included 30 sessions exceeding five hours.

Money-laundering failures included not checking source of funds for a customer who deposited £3.5m and lost £1.6m in three months. Another politically exposed person lost £795,000 in just over a year.

The £13m penalty will go towards the commission's national strategy to reduce gambling harms.

In January, the commission announced new measures to try and strengthen safer gambling. VIP schemes featured heavily, with tightened controls and under 25s restricted from joining.

Gambling Commission chief executive Neil McArthur

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."

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