July 3, 2017

The Government has published The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, which came into effect on 26 June 2017.

This comes following a period of transposition from the EU 4th Money Laundering Directive and replaces the previous Money Laundering Regulations 2007.

The Commission reminds all casino operators, both non-remote and remote (online), that they must comply with the new requirements and will need to ensure they have effective measures in place.

Richard Watson, Gambling Commission Programme Director for Enforcement and Intelligence said: “We welcome the new Regulations, which supports our licensing objective of keeping gambling crime free. We are currently in the process of revising our anti-money laundering guidance to reflect the new Regulations – operators are reminded they need to take their anti-money laundering responsibilities seriously and implement the necessary changes.”

Operators will be invited to provide feedback on the proposed changes to the Commission’s guidance (The Prevention of Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism – guidance for remote and non-remote casinos) via a consultation.

All gambling operators, casino or otherwise are reminded that:

• they still have other duties to prevent money laundering under the Gambling Act 2005, Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and the LCCP;
• there is a clear need to further raise standards across the industry; and
• the Government has warned it has the power to include other sectors within the new Money Laundering Regulations at a later date if those sectors are assessed as being higher risk.

To read the Commission’s press release in full, click here.