Roumen Spetsov, Director General of Bulgaria’s National Revenue Agency (NRA), has expanded the country’s online gambling blacklist with 52 more operators. After an exhaustive investigation by the national gambling regulator, its specialised branch – the Electronic Audit of Systems of Gambling Operators (EASGO) – concluded that the websites in question were targeting Bulgarian users without having an active licence under …
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Montenegro gambling in turmoil as e-payments ban is authorised
The government of Montenegro has been urged to explain why it has authorised amendments to impose a ban on electronic payments services for gambling. Conflicts arise in the Balkans nation as the government has confirmed that it will “enact amendments to Gambling Laws” that will prohibit the use of modern payment systems for gambling. The controversial amendments contravene EU competition …
Read More »Gibraltar taken off FATF grey list during 2024 Paris Plenary
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has congratulated four countries for meeting international AML standards and getting off the grey list. Uganda, the UAE, Barbados and Gibraltar have all been excluded from the list of redtaped countries after the latest FATF preliminary meeting concluded that they have fixed all AML deficiencies within the agreed timeframes. The Action Plan that the …
Read More »Malta NRA notes igaming AML improvements but stresses financial flow monitoring
The government of Malta has detailed that it has strengthened policy and compliance in the gambling sector to minimize exposure to threats and vulnerabilities stemming from money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF). Measures were outlined by the ‘National Risk Assessment (NRA) on Money Laundering (ML) and Funding for Terrorism (TF)‘, a review of financial risks across Malta’s business sectors. …
Read More »Bulgaria ramps up AML scrutiny of gambling sector
The National Revenue Agency (NRA) of Bulgaria has formed a new branch titled “Prevention and Counter Action Against Money Laundering” – part of the government’s commission that oversees gambling activity in the country. This is part of the list of changes introduced to Bulgaria’s gambling regulatory framework in 2020 that place the Director of the NRA as the ultimate legal …
Read More »Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner stands by 888 licence
The Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner (GGC) has taken regulatory lead on the compliance failures disclosed yesterday by the board of 888 Holdings Plc. AML and KYC failings were notified to the GGC, the regulator in which 888 holds its operating licence and resides its headquarters. Issuing a statement, the Gibraltar Commissioner said it would be “reviewing and discussing the outcome of …
Read More »EU AML risk report highlights glaring gambling weak spots
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 …
Read More »Andrew Lyman: “Gibraltar Commission won’t apply artificial rules to meet FATF demands on tougher gambling sanctions”
Andrew Lyman, Gibraltar’s Chief Commissioner for Gambling, has stated that his department is committed to helping the government remove the British Overseas Territory from the Financial Action Task Force‘s (FATF) ‘greylist’ – ‘in the quickest of time possible’. The statement was made to delegates attending the KPMG Gibraltar e-Gambling Summit this morning, in which Lyman detailed his surprise at the …
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 …
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