Sportsbook, bingo and poker exempted from incoming EU AML Directive

Large parts of the UK gambling industry could be exempt from the EU’s 4^th Money Laundering Directive (4MLD), under a ruling published by the UK Government today.

The Government deemed the gambling sector – except for remote and non-remote casinos – to be low risk relative to other regulated sectors and therefore not subject to 4MLD.

Casino operators will still need to comply with the directive which is expected to come into force in EU member states in June 2017.

One major impact is the imposition of tighter controls on transactions above €2,000, alongside more stringent KYC,  AML and anti-terrorism protocols.

The government warned operators the exemption would only continue as long as the industry remained low risk, which would be continuously reviewed.

It also asked the Gambling Commission to monitor the AML protocols of operators under the standards of its licensing framework.

The Commission said in a statement this morning: “It is therefore imperative that gambling providers comply with the requirements of the Gambling Act and the strengthened Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) to ensure that they have effective policies, procedures and controls in place, and continue to raise standards.

“Those operators who will not become subject to the new regulations are reminded that they still have other duties to prevent money laundering under the Gambling Act, Proceeds of Crime Act, and the LCCP, and there is a clear need to further raise standards across the industry.”

Since 2015 a couple of major operators including Paddy Power and Rank have been hit with fines for AML failings.