Australian authority signs MOU with UKGC

The Australian body AUSTRAC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).

Australia.- AUSTRAC, the financial intelligence unit and anti-money laundering regulator from Australia, has announced that in order to strengthen its fight against financial crime, it has signed a regulatory Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).

This is a step that will allow both entities to share regulatory and compliance information to strengthen the international financial system against transnational crime, including money laundering, terrorism financing, corruption and other serious crimes.

Nicole Rose, CEO of AUSTRAC, said that this confirms the commitment by both agencies to the exchange of financial intelligence information. “Financial crime is a global issue,” Rose said. “It is critical we work together with our international partners to tackle this issue.”

“The signing of this MOU brings the number of jurisdictions AUSTRAC shares regulatory intelligence with to five. This is in addition to its MOUs with 93 financial intelligence units in the global network – further strengthening AUSTRAC’s international network to track illicit funds across the globe.”

UKGC sets new self-exclusion directive

All online gambling operators in the UK will be forced to participate in the multi-operator self-exclusion scheme GAMSTOP from March. According to a new directive from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), this makes the coverage of GAMSTOP comprehensive.

This scheme was developed for the online sector and allows consumers to self-exclude from online operators with one request, instead of having to do so with each operator individually. The UKGC said that this will make access to self-exclusion much simpler for those who wish to be prevented from online gambling.