The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has updated its recommendations on how EU member states should conduct risk assessments against anti-money laundering (AML) and countering financing of terrorism (CFT) threats. New industry-specific recommendations have been provided via the European Commission’s (EC) ‘Supranational Risk Assessment (SNRA) Report’, which was last updated in 2019. Under the EU ‘Anti-money Laundering Directive’ (AMLD) the …
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888 nets £250m deal reduction on William Hill takeover terms
The board of 888 Holdings has notified investors that it has reached an agreement with Caesars Entertainment to amend the terms of its acquisition of William Hill. Citing a change in macroeconomic conditions and regulatory/compliance factors since the deal was initiated on 9 September 2021, Caesars has agreed to lower its enterprise valuation of William Hill from £2.2bn to £1.95/ …
Read More »David Clifton: Licensing Expert – Those were the forecasts that were
It’s always interesting to look back at my industry forecasts of a year ago to see if I got anything right at all. So, why don’t you come with me back to my December 2020 article for SBC News entitled “Ten forecasts and a hope for 2021” so we can go through my ten forecasts of a year ago and …
Read More »UKGC recommends FATF guidance to safeguarding risk-based supervision
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has prompted operators to review the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) updated AML guidance with regards to safeguarding their customers’ risk-based supervision approach. Established in 2001 by the G7, the FATF serves as the financial crime and anti-terrorist financing unit responsible for developing intergovernmental cooperation to combat the growing threat of international money laundering. The …
Read More »W2 and Crucial Compliance: Simplifying the compliance burden for igaming operators
Writing a shared account for SBC News, Warren Russell from W2 and Crucial Compliance’s Paul Foster explain why the move towards tighter enforcement for global regulators leaves operators needing to strengthen their compliance efforts today. Global regulators continue to tighten regulations to ensure licence holders meet the highest possible safer gambling and AML standards. As part of these efforts, regulators …
Read More »Getting regulation ready for the US – Navigating the process of platform certification for the online market
The speed at which you can get to market with a certified platform has become a crucial talking point for igaming operators as more US states open their doors to regulated gambling. We spoke to Daniel Files, Technical Compliance Business Director at Gaming Innovation Group (GiG), to get a better feel for the time and resources involved with certifying a …
Read More »UKGC seeks guidance on customer interactions
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has launched a further consultation seeking guidance on ‘how online gambling companies interact with their customers’. The Commission aims to gather wide-ranging insights and opinions from businesses, employees and their customers on ‘what protections should be offered by online gambling operators to prevent harms to their customers’. UK online gambling laws require licensed operators to …
Read More »Pinnacle boosts KYC capabilities through Sumsub deal
Pinnacle will strengthen its commitment to social responsibility after signing a new partnership with Sumsub, an identity verification platform that covers the compliance disciplines of KYC, KYB and AML. Through the new agreement, Sumsub will support the operator in streamlining its onboarding customer procedures fulfilling key compliance requisites across multiple jurisdictions, as well as helping ‘protect their users from unnecessary …
Read More »AgeChecked – Germany offers operators no grace period on age-verification requirements
Germany follows the Netherlands in placing age verification as the critical compliance component of The Interstate Treaty on Gambling to be fully enforced from 1 July 2021. Though final compliance requirements are yet to be settled, Germany’s sixteen Länder (regional councils) remain adamant that new federal gambling regime will carry a zero-tolerance policy on age-verification infringements, summoning licence suspensions and …
Read More »Spelinspektionen reminds operators of AML responsibilities
The Swedish Gambling Authority, Spelinspektionen, has issued guidance for licence holders which outlines ‘common risks’ and examples of how online games can be used for money laundering and terrorist financing. Spelinspektionen also included some of its own observations on the actions that operators have previously taken to combat money laundering, emphasising that operators must assign customers a risk level when …
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