The GB Gambling Commission has confirmed that new rules and regulations for money laundering measures will come into effect on 10 January 2020.
The updated Money Laundering Regulations will implement the European Union’s 5th Money Laundering Directive. To coincide with this, the Commission will publish the fifth edition of its guidance for remote and non-remote casinos on combatting money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The major changes to the Money Laundering Regulations applicable to casinos, according to the Commission, include regulation 19, whereby all operators must make sure appropriate measures are in place to prevent money laundering when launching new products or business practices.
Regulation 19 also states remote and non-remote casinos should ensure they have specific policies, procedures and controls for both money laundering and terrorist financing, while regulation 24 sets out how agents working with casinos must be given appropriate training on such issues.
Elsewhere, regulation 28 includes measure for further direction in relation to what information may be regarded as ‘obtained from a reliable source which is independent of the person whose identity is being verified’.
The Commission also said operators should be aware of regulation 33, which sets outs a further requirements for enhanced customer due diligence measures. This relates to high-risk third countries, complex or unusually large transactions, and where there are unusual patterns of transactions, or transactions have no apparent economic or legal purpose.
Regulation 33 also includes directions on due diligence for customers who are beneficiaries of life insurance policies, as well as where the customer is a third country national and received citizenship in an EEA state in exchange for the transfer of capital, purchase of property, government bonds or investment in corporate entities in the EEA state.
“The Commission recognises that it takes time to implement changes and we will take that into account, but we expect to see that operators have acted promptly, invested appropriately –if technology is required to accommodate the changes – and implemented changes with the requisite urgency,” the regulator said.
“Additionally, publication of the updated guidance on 10 January must result in casino businesses reviewing, and accordingly amending, their money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessments, as well as the associated policies, procedures and controls.”
