Czech Republic debates responsible gaming
Responsible Gambling and anti-money laundering will be discussed in Prague.
Czech Republic.- The leading boutique-style gaming conference in Prague has announced more speaker profiles, and it looks like the event will cover all the hot topics of the industry. Responsible Gambling is among the hottest topics of the online and land-based industry in regulated markets of the European Union, and with the Czech market regulation coming into place, a clear path towards optimal performance is to be discussed.
The organisers are honoured to announce that the Responsible Gambling topic will be covered by Dan Iliovici, the President of the Romanian National Office of Gambling and the panel will feature important industry speakers such as Alex Henderson (The Ritz Hotel Casino London), Martin Arendts (ARENDTS ANWÄLTE), Pieter Remmers (Assissa) and a special guest from Harris Hagan.
In a recent interview, conducted by European Gaming Media and Events, Alex Henderson was asked what social responsibilities does preventing money laundering include. Alex replied: “In many cases, social responsibility and AML go hand in hand. If an operator has good AML processes in place they will often detect problem gambling concerns and vice versa. We have seen in the recent enforcement action that when an operator is punished for their lapses in social responsibility they are also punished for their lapses in AML, this is because operators generally do not do enough to protect their customers. If an operator has done enough to determine a customer’s Source of Wealth (SOW) they should know when that customer is spending more than they can afford. Therefore, if that customer is spending outside of their known income, an operator should be doing extra checks to determine if the customer is spending more, because they either have a gambling problem or they are spending more because they also have some illegitimate funds that have not previously been uncovered.”
With this fresh announcement the team has also announced that Anna Wietrzyńska-Ciołkowska (DLA Piper) will join the “Focus on Poland” panel. She is the head of the Media, Sport and Entertainment sector group in Warsaw, advising both offshore and domestic clients on the legal aspects of gambling, gaming and promotional lotteries. This includes advice on the legality of particular business models in Poland, the compatibility of Polish gambling law with EU law, the process of obtaining a gambling licence, payment solutions and gaming tax. She also represents offshore gambling operators’ associations in the Polish gambling legislation process.
Panel: Focus on Poland
Dan Iliovici(Romanian National Gambling Office – ONJN)
Mr. Dan Iliovici is the President of the National Gambling Office ONJN – the Romanian gambling regulator, monitoring and controlling authority. During the last six years Mr. Iliovici represented the interests of the gambling operators as executive manager of two of the most important associations of the industry. He was also member of the Consultancy Council from NGO, actively contributing at the new gambling regulatory framework in Romania. Mr. Dan Iliovici is also dedicated to the study of problem gambling, initiating and promoting the most important Responsible Gambling projects in Romania. He has participated as a speaker at conferences and seminars across Europe and published more articles on responsible gambling topic.
Panel: Responsible Gambling, AML and Gambling Licensing Procedures in the European Union
Alex Henderson (The Ritz Hotel Casino London)
Alex specialises in preventing money laundering in its varying forms and has a unique insight.
Alex Henderson is the current Head of AML at The Ritz Hotel Casino, one of the world’s most prestigious casinos. Alex has worked for the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of the AML expert witness team and has been involved in multiple high-end money laundering investigations. As well as having worked for several years as part of the NCA’s AML expert witness team, Alex spent much of his NCA career working as part of the covert operations unit (Undercover operations) portraying many different roles, including the role of a high-end money launderer. This unique insight into the mind of a criminal allows financial institutions to see the vulnerabilities and risks from a new angle. Alex advises a large number of organisations with regards to their AML compliance programmes and has lectured extensively in the UK and across Europe.
