Gambling Commission warns over rise in suspicious activity

The British Gambling Commission has alerted operators over a rise in suspicious activity reports submitted to the National Crime Agency.

UK.- The Gambling Commission has warned licensees of a rise in the number of suspicious activity reports (SARs) submitted to the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).

Its emerging risks bulletin notes that the NCA has seen a rise in SARs during the Covid-19 pandemic. It reminds operators to check guidance on writing quality SARs.

It said in the bulletin: “The NCA during Covid-19 pandemic has seen an increase in SAR submissions and it is vital that operators submit a SAR to the United Kingdom’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) whenever there is knowledge or suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing.

“Failure to do so may result in licensees committing a criminal offence.”

Due diligence obligations for gaming licensees

The regulator also warned that it had identified examples of operators failing to sufficiently scrutinise the source of customers’ funds. 

It said: “It is becoming increasingly important for operators to carry out sufficient due diligence checks as the threat of serious and organised crime increases globally.”

It reminded operators that the UK has recently added Pakistan to the list of high-risk countries due to unsatisfactory money laundering and terrorist financing controls. 

It also warned that cryptoasset payments have been flagged as high-risk for money laundering. It asked operators to remain on alert, warning that the number of Bitcoin and other crypto scams are expected to rise, according to the UK Crown Prosecution Service.

It said: “The Commission notes that the threat of organised crime is increasing globally, meaning that operators should properly scrutinise the source of customer’s funds.”