Gambling watchdogs have raised money-laundering concerns over a casino owned by a controversial nightclub boss.
The Gambling Commission identified a number of issues during a visit to the prohibition era-themed Bootleg Bar at Stefan King’s Corinthian Club in Glasgow.
Casinos must comply with strict rules for vetting high-value customers to make sure they can afford to sustain losses and aren’t hiding criminal cash.
But a whistleblower, who has been suspended from a senior position at the venue, told the Sunday Mail he witnessed potential breaches of licensing and gambling rules.
He said: “The Gambling Commission rules are in place mainly to combat money laundering.
“Once someone has got up to £1400, we should make sure they are a registered member.
“If they spend £10,000 within a month, we’re supposed to ask them for bank details and proof of income.
“They’re supposed to get three visits after that and, if no paperwork is provided, we’re supposed to suspend the membership. But there are people at the Corinthian who have been allowed to keep gambling.”
The Gambling Commission is due to visit the Corinthian – part of the G1 Group – on August 1 to carry out an “in depth” assessment.
It previously visited the venue in May when concerns about the checks being carried out on big-spending punters were identified.
At that inspection, a breach of policy was identified where a player was allowed to visit the casino more than three times while Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) checks should have been carried out.
The Commission also said there was a “disconnect in how interactions/concerns etc are captured and escalated”.
G1 Group said: “The Gaming Commission visit in August 2019 is a regular scheduled visit. Our EDD procedures are robust and are regularly reviewed and benchmarked.
“We have procedures in place to manage customer spending limits which are in line with industry standards. We review our internal compliance processes and have been presented with no evidence to suggest these have been compromised. We reject any suggestion that the system has been, and could be, manipulated without our knowledge.”
The Gambling Commission would not comment on individual cases.
In 2015, 2895 staff employed by King, who is reputed to be worth more than £54million, were revealed to be paid less than the minimum wage.
