Digital currencies such as Bitcoin have been added by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) to its list of acceptable payment methods that are currently available to license holders under the regulation of the UK gambling watchdog.
The fact that digital currencies such as Bitcoin have been accepted by a high-profile regulatory body could be beneficial for increasing the alternative currencies’ popularity among people. Until now, online gambling license holders have been allowed to accept Bitcoin as an official payment method only by the jurisdiction of Curacao.
Regardless of the fact that the UKGC has added digital currencies to its LCCP, Bitcoin gambling operators who would like to be accepted in the UK market will still need to be issued a license for that.
The License Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) of the regulator have been recently updated by the UK Gambling Commission itself. These actions were take after the regulatory body has had specific consultations with both current license holders and industry stakeholders. The new requirements that have been added to the watchdog’s LCCP are set to be enforced on October 31st, 2016.
Section 5 of UKGC LCCP is all about Payments, including cash and cash equivalents, payment methods and services. Under the new rules implemented license holders are required to implement “appropriate policies and procedures” when it comes to using both cash and cash equivalents. These actions are considered as part of the licensees’ internal controls and financial accounting systems.
When it comes to the cash equivalents mentioned above, the UK Gambling Commission mentions cheques, debit cards, banker drafts as well as digital currencies. With the implementation of the new rules, the Commission intends to reduce the risk of various crimes, such as money laundering activities for example. In addition, the UK regulatory watchdog wants to make sure that its customers are not given illegal credit.
UK Gambling Commission has added digital currencies to its list of acceptable payment methods to also make sure that all gambling activities are to be run in compliance with all licensing objectives. License holders, on the other hand, need to take into account that the implementation of these procedures needs to be effective, not to mention they are required to regularly check on the guidelines that could be issued by the Commission every now and then.
In July 2016, the annual report of the UKGC quoted its Chief Executive Officer Sarah Harrison who had stated that digital currencies had long been among the major areas of focus for the Commission. Back then, however, Mrs. Harrison did not specify on any of the following changes that may have occurred.
- Author
Daniel Williams
