The guest was found dead in November 2018. In a subsequent autopsy, forensic medicine came to the conclusion that it was a matter of suicide. In the further course it turned out that the deceased player had visited the London Aspers Ford City Casino just one day earlier. So the suspicion arises that the man’s suicide is related to his last visit to the casino.
Player protection has failed across the board
In the present case, the responsible UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) examined the facts in detail in order to determine possible violations of the applicable player protection measures. The result: The Aspers Stratford City Casino failed to observe the strict player protection measures in several cases.
The casino management did not monitor the deceased gambler enough and did not document his gaming behavior as prescribed. In addition, the casino customer was listed as a “VIP guest”, which automatically led to the assumption that the man could afford high losses. However, a credit check never took place. In addition, the casino guest was able to easily exceed the stipulated bet limit of 5,000 euros per game in several cases.
Furthermore, the responsible employees of the casino have not checked the origin of the funds. And that despite the fact that in two cases the man deposited large amounts of cash of GBP 51,000 and GBP 47,000 respectively. The London casino has also waived a legally required money laundering test. Only a few weeks ago we reported on the increased suicide rate among young addicts.
Anyone who is toying with the idea of killing themselves should seek professional help immediately. Telefonseelsorge® can be contacted on the free service hotline 0800/111 0 111 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Here, those affected can be shown ways out of difficult life situations. The offer of help can also be used via a chat function.
The connection between suicide and casino attendance can hardly be proven
Basically, of course, all gaming providers have a duty to protect their players from personal gaming problems. If problematic gaming behavior is found, those responsible must take appropriate countermeasures and, under certain circumstances, completely exclude the player from the game.
In the present case, the UKGC wanted to find out whether there was a connection between the man’s suicide in November 2018 and his previous visits to the casino. Ultimately, of course, it was not possible to determine what the exact circumstances of the suicide were. The fact is that the deceased gambler was only a guest at the casino in question one day before the terrible incident. And even before that, the man was a welcome “VIP customer”. These circumstances suggest that the casino managers knew about the problematic gambling behavior of the player. The responsible CEO of the UK Gambling Authority commented on the case as follows:
“As the regulatory authority, we examined the casino’s dealings with gamblers and identified deficiencies in the prevention of money laundering, social responsibility and customer contact processes.”
Casino fined £ 652,500
Due to the numerous serious deficiencies in player protection, the UKGC has fined the London casino £ 682,500. That corresponds approximately to an amount of 780,000 euros. In addition, around £ 78,000 was deducted from casino revenue. This is the amount that the deceased player lost due to poor player protection measures in the casino. In addition, the Aspers Stratford City Casino was asked to rectify the identified grievances immediately so that such a sad incident cannot occur again in the future. It was only some time ago that we reported on the UKGC’s annual report and the sentences imposed.
Conclusion
Aspers Stratford City Casino, UK, has been charged with serious violations. These are not limited to player protection measures, which have obviously not been implemented effectively enough, but also concern money laundering prevention. For this reason, the casino now has to pay a fine of 652,500 GBP and also immediately correct all grievances. The sad fate of this VIP player shows that problematic gambling behavior in combination with other difficult life situations can quickly become too much for the people concerned. Therefore, prevention offers should be expanded in order to be able to offer useful assistance at an early stage.
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