UK implements new regulations on gambling-related crime

The UK Gambling Commission is ready to implement new regulations forcing operators to take greater care in preventing gambling-related crime.

UK.- The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) will be implementing new regulations that will require operators to take greater care in preventing gambling-related crime.

Under the new regulations, all gambling operators must carry out an assessment in connection to the risks of money laundering their companies may face, whilst showing they have sufficient measures in place to mitigate these risks. Any criminal probes involving operators or their premises in the case of land-based operators, where they appear to have failed to keep crime out of gambling, must be reported to UKGC.

Another new measure will see terms imposed to prevent employees from taking advantage of suspicious or irregular betting patterns. According to the National Crime Agency, between October 2014 and September 2015 there were a total of 2,459 suspicious activity reports filed by operators.

Paddy Power was found to have failed to prevent gambling-related crime, after some of its customers were convicted of serious criminal offences, so it had to donate £280,000 (US$ 405,342) to socially responsible causes.

Gala Coral voluntarily opted to pay a settlement of over £846,000 (US$ 1,224,711.9) to the victim of a theft after the stolen money was laundered through the group’s brands. In addition, the operator paid £30,000 (US$ 43,429.5) to UKGC to pre-empt a formal licence review.

The new regulations will come into effect later this year and UKGC will consider whether licensees should provide information about crimes not covered by the latest changes, such as police call-outs to premises.