EGBA publishes its pan-European recommendations in the fight against money laundering
Historically, gambling has been one of the activities that has attracted the most illicit activities such as money laundering. This has not changed with the emergence of internet gambling, quite the contrary. The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has just published a series of pan-European guidelines in order to assist online gambling operators in complying with national and EU anti-money laundering regulations. EGBA invites interested parties to make their contributions until October 13th.
In its effort to improve good industry practices, the European Gaming and Betting Association has published a pan-European set of guidelines for the fight against money laundering in gambling. ©wir_sind_klein/Pixabay
In a report that appeared last May, EGBA had echoed the differences in the monitoring and control of gambling addiction between the countries of the European area. The report highlighted that there is no common approach when it comes to problem gambling which makes it difficult for efficient policies to tackle it. Something similar could be said to happen with the anti-money laundering mechanisms in online gambling.
In the list of recommendations just published by EGBA, the association focuses on money laundering, a problem that affects online gambling. The guidelines include specific guidelines for Internet operators to help them comply with current national and European standards, but also with an eye to the package of measures that the EU plans to implement.
“We are pleased to present the first pan-European industry standards on anti-money laundering for the online gambling sector in Europe. Preventing online gambling from being used to conceal crime is an important test for European gambling operators. There is currently very little specific guidance to assist operators in the sector in their efforts to comply with the standards. We hope that these guidelines will fill this gap and establish a solid foundation for the sector to achieve the highest possible levels of compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. It is important to bring together the experience of the entire sector and we invite interested parties to give their opinion on the guidelines to ensure that, together, the sector can contribute positively and proactively to Europe's fight against money laundering.” – Dr. Ekaterina Hartmann , director of legal affairs at EGBA, in press release
The guidelines approved by EGBA
The guidelines proposed by EGBA are in line with the package of measures that the EU wants to implement (AML/CFT), approved in July 2021 . The package of legislative proposals seek to strengthen EU rules in the field of anti-money laundering (AML, anti-money laundering ) and the financing of terrorism (CFT, countering the financing of terrorism ). The package also contemplates the creation of a new authority in the European area to supervise the application of the rules.
In this sense, the recommendations of the EGBA put operators on alert so that they do not relent in their commitment to promote responsible gambling at the highest level . The guidelines include the following practical guidance:
- how to conduct risk assessments of clients and companies
- diligence with the client and the improvement of cooperation during the process
- requirements of notification of suspicious transactions
- the relationship between anti-money laundering and safe gambling
- record keeping requirements.
Before publishing the final text EGBA invites interested parties to submit their comments, for which the association has opened a deadline until October 13 . It is also envisaged that the members of EGBA, which includes most of the companies in the igaming sector in Europe, will submit annual reports where they report on the progress in the application of the guidelines. EGBA is very involved in improving industry standards.
