This month, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is to make certain changes in order to work on the prevention of crimes that are related to gambling activities. The amendments that are expected to be made are associated with the license conditions and codes of practice of the Commission (LCCP) and, as mentioned above, are aimed at preventing gambling-related crimes.
The Gambling Commission has published an official statement on its website, on the matters of its license conditions and codes of practice. The regulatory authority has revealed that according to it, focusing on the expected outcomes was the most effective regulatory approach that could be used to date. In addition, it revealed that it was focused on allowing the operators who had been issued a license to use different approaches in order to meet its requirements when possible, including data analytics and developing various technological tools.
The changes that were introduced by the UK regulatory body a few months ago are expected to come into effect from October 31st.
First, the Commission once again emphasized on an already existing clause which required the licensees to require all suspicious-looking or irregular betting patterns to be reported. Apart from widening the scope of this clause, the UK gambling regulator also reminded all licensed gambling operators to take adequate measures to reduce payment method and digital currencies-related risks in order to guarantee their customers’ safety.
The amendments include a new requirement set by the Commission and concern all licensees, as they will be required to report the criminal investigations they are involved in, if any. In addition, the UK Gambling Commission will be given the chance to take part in the investigations by questioning licensees on various matters related with the crime-prevention measures they have taken.
But that is not all. For some time now, the Gambling Commission has been working on various measures to prevent money laundering. With the implementation of the new measures, the Commission is expected to present a special anti-money laundering requirement, under which gambling operators that have been granted with a license will need to make an assessment of the eventual risks and make everything possible to manage them in the best way possible in order to prevent their business being involved in money laundering and terrorist financing operations.
The above-mentioned requirement will be also imposed on brands that are based in overseas jurisdictions.
What is more, gambling operators would be required to present efficient policies and procedures under which they would be expected to handle cash and cash equivalents. On the other hand, licensed gambling companies would be expected to make sure that they are not being advertised on websites that offer unauthorised access to content subjected to copyright issues.
- Author
Daniel Williams
