Casino Copenhagen reprimanded for AML failings
The Danish gambling regulator has found that the casino breached Denmark’s Money Laundering Act.
Denmark.- Spillemyndigheden, Denmark’s gambling regulator, has issued a series of reprimands against Casino Copenhagen in the country’s capital. It found the casino had committed several breaches of the Danish Money Laundering Act by failing to compile risk assessments, among other issues.
The first rebuke concerns risk assessments, which are a requirement under section 7, subsection 1 of the Money Laundering Act. The regulator said Casino Copenhagen had not adequately assessed customer types and payment methods.
Two more reprimands relate to the absence of written procedures on how business-related tasks should be executed. Its procedures on politically exposed persons and customer due diligence were incomplete and there was insufficient material to be able to check that adequate policies existed.
A further criticism was that to educate employees Casino Copenhagen used material that was too general and didn’t give enough information on anti-money laundering. Finally, it was found to have breached section 35 of the Money Laundering Act by failing to offer anonymity in its whistleblower scheme, something that could cause employees to avoid making reports.
The casino does not have the obligation to act on the majority of the reprimands since it’s already updated its risk assessment, procedures, teaching material and whistleblower scheme. It must, however, submit an updated risk assessment considering the assessment of confirmation of winnings. The regulator also warned over the seriousness of the offences.
Spillemyndigheden said: “The rules on risk assessment, business procedures, policies, teaching materials and whistleblower scheme are very basic in the Money Laundering Act, and violation of the rules is the clear starting point for an injunction or reprimand or, in serious or repeated cases, to police reporting.”
Earlier in the month, the regulator reported Tipwin to the police for breaches of Denmark’s money laundering rules. It says the German operator breached the Money Laundering Act by failing to prepare a risk assessment and to have written policies for retail betting.
Spillemyndigheden said Tipwin only prepared a risk assessment of retail betting sales from May 16 of this year and had no written AML procedures or controls for retail betting until May 25. The regulator also issued an injunction for breaches of rules on procedures for online casino and betting.
Last month, Spillemyndigheden warned bet365 for failing to complete due diligence checks on a young customer who deposited around DKK190,000 (€25,537) in their account over a year. The regulator said bet365 had insufficient knowledge of the player’s source of funds to be able to rule out criminal activity.
