SBC News

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 group of four was assigned to followed extensive evaluations that put them under increased monitoring by FATF. After an on-site visit to each of the countries, the regulator has decided to stop subjecting them to the process, given that they continue to strengthen their AML/CFT regimes.

The plenary session also concluded with a new risk-based guidance for the implementation of Recommendation 25 on the beneficial ownership and transparency of legal arrangements – seeking to prevent global crime syndicates from using legal pathways to launder money.

In this sense, an agreement was also made to la..

Glücksspielbehörde (GGL), the Federal Gambling Authority of Germany, has detailed its concerns regarding impending changes to the Strafgesetzbuch (StGB), the Criminal Code of Germany.

Speaking at the Lotto Talk event in Berlin, GGL Co-President Ronald Benter disclosed that the authority had issued an appeal to the Federal Ministry of Justice to ‘reconsider amendments to the Criminal Code’.

The Ministry of Justice has been implored to abandon amendments that would alter the current provisions enabling the application of Article 284 of the StGB.

Article 284 of the Criminal Code permits federal authorities to directly collaborate with the Staatsanwaltschaft, the Public Prosecution Office of Germany, to initiate criminal investigations into entities suspected of violating federal laws.

In his address, Benter stated that the provision was a crucial tool for the GGL to counteract illegal gambling conducted by foreign unlicensed operators.

Nevertheless, the Ministry of Justice has been t..

The Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS) has taken a stance against the Ministry of Finance mandate for a comprehensive ban on gambling with credit.

According to the proposal memorandum, the ban will boost Sweden’s efforts to prevent cases of indebtedness caused by credit gambling.

By law, licensed gambling operators carry a “duty of care” which mandates that they must discourage excessive gambling.

The proposal additionally puts the Swedish Gambling Authority Lotteriinspektionen in charge of constructing requirements for these preventative measures.

Deadlines for the implementation of the credit ban and introduction of Lotteriinspektionen’s enhanced authority are 1 September 2024 and 1 April 2025, respectively.

BOS, however, has noted that putting a lid on gambling with credit goes against the government’s own inquiry into indebtedness from 2023, where it was noted that “there are not sufficient reasons to introduce a ban on paying for gambling with credit car..

The UK government decision to implement of new £2 and £5 stake limits for online slots, set to take effect later this year, is anticipated to impact the annual gross gambling yield by £166.2 million.

As announced on Friday by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) from September a maximum stake limit of £2 on UK online slots for anyone aged between 18 and 24 years old, as well as a £5 limit for anyone aged 25 or over will be applied on online operators.

The stake limits will bring online slots in line with land-based casinos and follow a 10-week consultation period in which the government says the majority of respondents – who were industry workers, academics, treatment providers and individuals – agreed with the statutory limits for online slots stated within the gambling white paper.

The DCMS has published its response to the online slot stake limits, to which it stated that the annual reduction to GGY is expected to be £166.2m, with a 5.2 per cent drop in online slots G..

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has welcomed the European Council’s decision to make Frankfurt the base of operations for the upcoming European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA).

AMLA is expected to open doors for the first time in mid-2025, with around 400 staff members contributing to its day-to-day operations, which will include direct and indirect supervision of regulated EU entities, including the Union’s largest financial institutions.

The authority’s foundation is a key development in the ongoing EU AML framework reforms – concluding with the current EU mandate in June 2024.

AMLA will be given ultimate power to further harmonise AML regulations and their application across member states, such as creating a standardised reporting template for Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) – something that will affect the gambling sector as well.

EGBA is already ahead of the curve, having produced and published a package of industry-centric online gambling g..

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has welcomed the European Council’s decision to make Frankfurt the base of operations for the upcoming European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA).

AMLA is expected to open doors for the first time in mid-2025, with around 400 staff members contributing to its day-to-day operations, which will include direct and indirect supervision of regulated EU entities, including the Union’s largest financial institutions.

The authority’s foundation is a key development in the ongoing EU AML framework reforms – concluding with the current EU mandate in June 2024.

AMLA will be given ultimate power to further harmonise AML regulations and their application across member states, such as creating a standardised reporting template for Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) – something that will affect the gambling sector as well.

EGBA is already ahead of the curve, having produced and published a package of industry-centric online gambling g..

A public consultation has been opened on the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security’s draft proposal for online player deposit limits.

Translated from Dutch by SBC News, the draft rules propose a maximum monthly deposit limit of €150 for all players aged between 18 and 23, and €350 for everyone aged over 24 – with the option to increase those limits only after an agreement has been reached by a player and a trained member from an operator’s staff.

The goal being to reduce online gambling harm, the Ministry estimates that around 15% to 35% of new players will try to increase their base limit.

Another proposed safety net to break up potential harmful behaviour includes the addition of pop-up messages during each game session. These messages will contain information on the player’s time spent within the game, as well as a reminder of their deposit limit – circulated every 30 minutes. An additional notification will be sent out when the player reaches 50% of the set limit.

Licensed ..

The UK government has confirmed that staking limits will be applied to online slot games from September as a guaranteed player protection measure following the Gambling Review, under its White Paper consultation.

The decision was announced by Stuart Andrew MP, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), a judgment deemed as a “landmark moment for UK gambling.”

Remote-licensed operators will have a 6-month period to implement a maximum £2 stake limit on online slot games for customers aged 18-to-24.

A further £5 stake limit will be applied to adults aged over 25, as the government introduces protections for online slot games matching customer restrictions applied in land-based gambling venues.

The measure is implemented in response to evidence submitted to the White Paper consultation on player protections, in which the government endorsed tougher measures to protect young adults aged 18-24 from gambling harms.

Stuart Andrew: DCMS
DCMS noted: “Thi..