HomeInsightsGambling Commission announces new requirements to prevent crime associated with gambling.

The new rules, which will come into force later this year, follow a Commission consultation that took place at the end of 2015.

As part of the changes, gambling operators:

  • must conduct an assessment of the risks of money laundering in their business, and show that they have effective policies, procedures and measures to mitigate them;
  • must report to the Commission any criminal investigations involving them or their premises where it appears their measures to keep crime out of gambling have failed; and
  • should impose terms and conditions to prevent employees from taking advantage of suspicious or irregular betting patterns.

Nick Tofiluk, Commission director of regulation, said: “Britain’s gambling industry needs to focus on keeping crime out of gambling and these new requirements will help them do just that.  We are urging all operators who supply products to consumers in Britain to read our document on the changes thoroughly and ensure their businesses are ready for when they come into force in the autumn… These new requirements encourage licensees to take a proactive and tailored approach to meeting their obligations to achieve meaningful results rather than focusing on processes alone”.

Later this year the Gambling Commission will be considering whether to require licensees to provide information about crimes not covered by the latest changes, such as police call-outs to premises, as this may be useful in terms of social responsibility considerations.  To read the Commission’s press release in full, click here.  To read the proposed amendments to the Commission’s Licensing Conditions and Codes of Practice, click here.