iGamingBusiness’ Post

⚡ REGULATORY UPDATE ⚡   The Gambling Commission of Great Britain (GC) has announced their first fine of 2024, handing out a penalty of £6 million to gambling operator Gamesys Operations Limited for social responsibility and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) failings. The failings were identified during a compliance assessment in May 2022.   Speaking on the fine, the GC’s Executive Director of Operations, Kay Roberts, said “Our focus as a regulator is to ensure that operators are employing policies and procedures which make gambling fair, safe and crime-free. We take this responsibility extremely seriously and whenever we find failures in policies and procedures then the business can expect significant regulatory action.”   In this post, we dive into the social responsibility and AML failures identified by the GC. Following the investigation, Gamesys has been directed to submit to a third-party audit. This audit aims to verify the adequacy of the company’s anti-money laundering and safer gambling measures.   If you are interested to discuss your compliance frameworks and receive actionable insight and advice, get in touch with us today: https://lnkd.in/etjAh-a

When considering compliance do you stop at AML/CFT and possibly PF(proliferation financing)? The following case shows the importance of considering all aspects of regulation within your policies and procedures. Whilst the failings highlighted in the case below highlight important AML failings the article might be of particular interest to those who might not consider all regulatory factors. "Social responsibility failures included: Interactions with customers were frequently not tailored to the specific customer journey or spectrum of harm and therefore interactions were not meaningful; An Early Risk Detection System was not demonstrably effective in understanding the impact of individual interactions on a customer’s behaviour and whether further action was required; Its approach to evaluation meant that it was unable to effectively ascertain whether a customer had read and understood the information or advice provided within its interactions." We at Resolute Consultancy take a governance approach to compliance and look to all aspects of regulation and compliance by implementing policies and procedures throughout your organisation, with regular reporting to the board. Please contact us to discuss all your compliance and governance needs. #governance #compliance #aml #gambling https://lnkd.in/ee_xiXEr

What happened in #gamblingregulation last week? Some highlights 👇 🇦🇺 AUSTRALIA launches AML enforcement probe into bet365: ℹ️ Australian financial intelligence agency and anti-money laundering (AML) enforcer AUSTRAC has launched an “enforcement investigation” into the Australian arm of bet365 after reviewing an external audit into the British online gambling giant. ➡️ More: https://lnkd.in/ei72qiCA 🇨🇱 CHILE's Senate begins debate on online gambling: ℹ️ A high-stakes lobbying battle has resumed as Chile’s online gambling bill begins its shuffle through the Senate, after taking more than a year to pass through the Chamber of Deputies. ➡️ More: https://lnkd.in/eAJ6UTXA 🇮🇳 INDIA financial enforcer fines Paytm over online gambling: ℹ️ India’s government agencies are coordinating to punish online gambling-linked financial channels, with one regulator fining fintech giant Paytm more than $660,000 for breaching anti-money laundering legislation and rules, and another freezing bank accounts tied to Chinese apps. ➡️ More: https://lnkd.in/ehPkZpGK Plus, Vixio also reported on developments from: 🇺🇸 Alabama 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇮🇹 Italy 🇺🇸 Maryland 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇬🇧 UK ... and many more. _____________________________ Gambling regulation is dynamic and complex. Need an easier way to understand the regulations in each jurisdiction, and to stay-ahead of the latest changes/developments? Message me to learn more about the Vixio GamblingCompliance tool! #gamblingcompliance #gamblingindustry #gambling #gaminglaw

"Dutch Banks highlight concerns that monitoring customers' transactions represents a violation of their privacy". I wonder how Dutch Banks go about complying with FATF Recommendation 10 as it relates to "scrutiny of transactions", "transaction monitoring", "suspicious transactions", etc. There might be a legitimate point here - my lay understanding is that the European Union privacy laws are based on the General Data Protection Regulation, whereas its anti-money laundering (AML) laws are driven by Directive 2018/849 (5th AML Directive). Presumably Regulations trump Directives. #whatisthepointofthefatf? #fatf #moneyval

No mention from #AUSTRAC re: CDD KYC verification, ML risk assessment re: payment channel (cash) at unsupervised terminals. Seems all was good on the #AML front. Some would suggest the Federal Government is best placed to regulate gambling. But *again* the evidence is to the contrary. https://lnkd.in/ggvbt4aw

Day 3 of Learning about Different types of Money Laundering Techniques: Gambling: >>Criminals have been using online and offline gambling as a method to launder money for a long time now. Casinos are often categorized as a high-risk industry in financial institutions because of how convenient it is for criminals to launder illicit proceeds and place it into the legitimate financial system. >>Due to the enormous quantities of money that pass through internet casinos every day, there has also been a substantial increase in the amount of money that is being routed via these establishments. >>One of the most common ways launderers use this method is by depositing a huge amount into a betting account and then making a series of dummy bets in different accounts to eventually cash out all that money. This has become an increasingly common practice with many unlicensed websites launched daily with little to no KYC restrictions.  >>The online gambling market will be worth more than $92.3 billion by next year, making it even more difficult for authorities to eradicate money laundering. >>Casino owners, both online and offline, must ensure customer verification through strict KYC and due diligence procedures and policies set within their organizations. #FinancialFraud #RiskManagement #ForensicAccounting #Frauds #AML #Moneylaundering #KYC #Compliance

🇪🇺 EGBA welcomes the European Parliament’s approval of the new EU anti-money laundering package and believes the new rules will benefit Europe’s online gambling operators by ensuring a consistent regulatory approach across EU member states. 👏 Another important feature of the package will be the creation of a harmonised reporting format for Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs). This will ensure that Europe’s online gambling operators encounter the same STR requirements across all EU member states, thereby setting clear and consistent expectations that will reduce administrative burdens and costs. 💬 “We welcome the European Parliament’s approval of the new anti-money laundering package. The new framework will set high standards and ensure greater consistency in the application of AML rules across the EU. Online gambling operators, especially those operating in multiple countries, will benefit from a single rulebook and harmonised reporting requirements that will unravel national complexities.” – Dr. Ekaterina Hartmann, Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, EGBA. 🔍 To assist online gambling operators in complying with the EU’s new AML rules, EGBA has developed industry-specific guidelines on anti-money laundering which apply a risk-based approach and include practical measures that operators can take on: Customer and Business Risk Assessments, Customer Due Diligence processes, Suspicious Transaction Reporting, and Record Keeping. Find out more about the guidelines: https://lnkd.in/gEHGDHF3 🤝 Our members already apply the guidelines and submit annual reports to EGBA that summarise their progress in implementing its measures. The guidelines are also open to all operators based in the EU and we encourage operators to sign up to them. 📖 Read our press release: https://lnkd.in/dUx4z8S2 #AML #CFT #CDD #CRA #BRA #STR #AMLA #igaming

🇳🇱 * The Dutch #gambling #regulator has accused state-owned Holland Casinos of failing to uphold vital anti-money laundering (#AML) protocols. * The regulator's report highlighted numerous deficiencies in Holland Casinos' AML framework, including inadequate customer #duediligence, insufficient #suspicious transaction reporting, and outdated technology. * In response, Holland Casinos has pledged to undertake corrective actions, such as investing in AML technology and enhancing staff training. * The Dutch government, which controls Holland Casinos, has reaffirmed its commitment to tackling #moneylaundering in the gambling sector. * This case underscores the importance for all gambling operators to prioritize AML #compliance and ethical practices to maintain public trust.

Vixio has launched a new Anti-Money Laundering Comparative Tool! The tool enables our customers to quickly compare state and provincial AML requirements for online gaming (including OSB) across the U.S. and Ontario. Read more about the tool in Vixio's blog: https://lnkd.in/djMKfEse

In this blog, we take a deep dive into how the latest GRC technology can support compliance teams in the gambling & gaming sector to successfully: ✅ Comply with evolving regulations. ✅ Prevent bribery & corruption. ✅ Implement anti-money laundering measures. ✅ Avoid conflicts of interest. ✅ Protect client data. ✅ Introduce effective disclosure procedures. Read more here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dqEZVfDP