SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS) has launched two initiatives to drive awareness around money laundering.
One of them is in the form of a bulletpoint checklist, filled with recommendations for licensed operators in the Swedish market. This is done as a standards template that all companies should implement in their AML procedures and relevant collaboration with authorities.
Included in the bullet points is a general risk assessment, which advises operators to thoroughly inspect their full gambling product stacks. Next is the development of expansive internal controls to prevent money laundering that should be kept up-to-date.
Another important step, among others, is the creation of a safe and anonymous reporting channel for employees that have knowledge of past or ongoing money laundering activities, and who want to report these breaches.
The second BOS initiative is its collaboration with the consulting agency Advisense and the resulting joint report on money laundering in the Swedish online gambling market.
As part of the report, BOS member companies have been asked to submit “concrete” proposals on how AML work in the gambling sector can be improved – for operators, banks, and authorities alike.
Gustaf Hoffstedt, Secretary General of the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling, commented: “Today we take this comprehensive approach to the problem of money laundering.
“The purpose is to make visible how the work against money laundering in the gambling industry can be improved. We present our report and checklist completely openly, so that even a gambling company that is not a member of BOS can use the material, if they so wish. We all win from that.”
