iGGBA meets with EU Commission to discuss third Money Laundering Directive
Monday 16th August 2004
In light of the recently proposed third Money Laundering Directive by the European Commission as well as the indication by the Dutch Council Presidency to give priority to the proposal and to start discussing technical aspects immediately, iGGBA met with Commission officials to discuss possible implications of this Directive for the Remote Gambling Industry.
The proposal is seen as an update to the existing 1st and 2nd anti-money laundering Directives and aims to extend the requirement on Know Your Customer (KYC) to identification and verification of such identification. If accepted in its current form, it would capture among others providers of services to companies as well as all persons dealing in goods or providing services for cash payment of €15,000 or more.
The Directive has a direct requirement for casinos obligating them to identify and verify the identification for persons purchasing or exchanging chips with a value of more than 1,000 euros. This has immense repercussions on any potential US style casino gambling in the UK where people can enter into premises and purchase chips of any amount without previous identification.
“We were pleased to see that the Commission did not intend the Directive to affect remote gambling. They were very receptive to the fact that a remote casino is one of the last gambling places a money launderer would pursue given that it requires them getting into the banking system through the use of a credit card”, stated Andrew Tottenham, Chairman of iGGBA.
The Directive will be making its way through the European Parliament in the autumn.
For the complete text of the proposal please consult: http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/company/financialcrime/docs/com-2004-448_en.pdf
For further information, please contact:
Andrew Tottenham, + 44 776 777 5952
iGGBA Secretariat, +44 20 7620 2770
iGGBA – interactive Gaming, Gambling and Betting Association
iGGBA is the primary industry body in the EU representing companies involved in the operation or provision of interactive platforms for gaming, gambling and betting. With 47 members, the Association aims to work with the Government and regulators in formulating fair and proper regulation, upholding the probity and trustworthiness of the industry, and supporting standards of appropriate social responsibility
In light of the recently proposed third Money Laundering Directive by the European Commission as well as the indication by the Dutch Council Presidency to give priority to the proposal and to start discussing technical aspects immediately, iGGBA met with Commission officials to discuss possible implications of this Directive for the Remote Gambling Industry.