Enforcement Director Offers Insights Into Gambling Commission’s Fight to Tackle Money Laundering

_{UK Gambling Commission’s AML enforcement efforts focus on strengthening financial crime detection in casinos and betting firms.}

The Gambling Commission's Enforcement Director, John Pierce, has shared insights on managing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) risks across the sector, including land-based and online casinos.  

Mr Pierce has spoken about the significant progress made in recent years and the ongoing need for vigilance. He also highlighted key AML failings that his team at the Gambling Commission has observed in recent casework.  

Some Improvements but Still Numerous Risk Factors at Play 

In a speech on Wednesday, Feb 12, at the Gambling Anti-Money Laundering Group (GAMLG) event, the Enforcement Director said that the Gambling Commission has seen improvements in recent years but also found cases where customer risk profiling and ongoing monitoring don't reflect the risks that the business has identified in their risk assessment.

Giving his unique perspective as Enforcement Director, Mr. Pierce said, “We encourage operators to review their monitoring procedures and customer profiles to ensure that a custoimer’s risk profile aligns with a full range of risks, such as geographic, customer transaction and product risk. 

"As well as this, customer risk profiles should reflect all the information the business holds on a customer.”

Sharing Information Critical in Fight Against Money Laundering  

Mr. Pierce said that the Gambling Commission had decided to share the information following the event, stating, “By working together, we can prevent criminal and terrorist actors from gaining a foothold in Great Britain and reduce the risk of money laundering across the gambling sector."

He also stated that operators should consider setting realistic and effective monetary and non-monetary thresholds and triggers for determining when further information should be sought from customers, as well as seeking such conversations earlier on in the customer relationship.

Operators Over-Reliant on Self-Declarations and Open Source Information 

The Gambling Commission has also identified that, where AML reviews are being conducted, some operators are not appropriately obtaining and scrutinising the source of funds and source of wealth information.

He said that “operators were over-relying on customers’ self-declarations and open-source information to manage money laundering and terrorist financing risks” and that they were “not following their own procedures to obtain Source of Funds (SoF) information at certain points.”

The Enforcement Director also noted a rise in threats, saying that changes to customer demographics in the high-end land-based casino sector are not being reflected in risk assessments, policies, procedures, and controls.

Some of the threats he highlighted were: 

• The use of artificial intelligence to forge ID and SoF documents. 
• Increases in the organised use of mule accounts and fraudulent activity. 
• The increased use of cryptocurrencies and virtual currency. 
• Concerns around the relationships of white-label operators and their white-label partners. 

Gambling Commission Aims to Support Best Operational Practices  

Mr. Pierce was clear when he said that the Gambling Commission would be increasing their presence at similar events in the future and that the aim of the Gambling Commission is to combat money laundering by working together to combat these risks.  

Mr. Pierce concluded, stating, “Combating money laundering and terrorist financing is a challenge we must tackle together. These risks pose a serious threat to businesses, consumers, and society as a whole, and the Commission remains steadfast in addressing them. 

"Your businesses and operational practices serve as the first line of defence, and we want to support you in getting this right.”