Compliance Updates
Swedish Court Rejects Mr Green Appeal Over €3.1M Fine
The Administrative Court in Linköping has rejected Mr Green’s appeal against a sanction for breaches of the Money Laundering Act and Gambling Act.
The gambling regulator Spelinspektionen had issued Mr Green with two warnings and fines totalling SEK31.5m (€3.1m) in August due to breaches of know-your-customer (KYC), anti-money laundering (AML) and responsible gambling rules.
The Administrative Court has ruled that Mr Green’s routines on money laundering were lacking and that it violated the Money Laundering Act’s rules on customer knowledge. It found that the two warnings issued by Spelinspektionen were “sufficient” and the penalty fees “proportionate”.
The largest fee of SEK30m relates to breaches of the operator’s duty of care on responsible gambling. A second warning and related penalty of SEK1.5m were issued for AML and KYC failings.
Spelinspektionen launched a review of Mr Green’s AML measures after receiving complaints in November 2019. It inspected 15 customer accounts, including accounts belonging to customers that Mr Green had reported to Sweden’s financial police.
Spelinspektionen said the fact that Mr Green had reported the accounts showed the operator had suspicions about possible money laundering.
The regulator noted that one customer had made deposits totalling SEK39.3m and had lost SEK3.2m despite having a declared income that hardly covered the loss. However, Mr Green had decided not to take further action to investigate possible money laundering after the customer stopped playing.
Spelinspektionen also audited five customers due to responsible gambling measures. It found that Mr Green had attempted to contact all five by email or phone due to increases in their gambling activity but that one customer had made several deposits per day on multiple occasions and had lost more than their announced taxable income for several years.
Mr Green eventually closed these customers’ accounts, but Spelinspektionen said the operator had not made sufficient contact with them to ensure they were gambling with their own funds and doing so responsibly.
Mr Green responded that some customers suspected of money laundering had not been identified due to technical problems with a new detection system that had failed to issue warnings over high-risk customers. It said the new automated system had identified a larger number of customers than expected and had placed customers in a queue according to level of risk, resulting in delays.
It added that it was now using a better case management system to help perform risk assessments and that it has increased its number of money laundering investigators to manage the increase.
Compliance Updates
Compliable Expands Licensing Offering to Europe and Latin America
Leading licensing management solution now supports new global markets
Leading compliance software provider Compliable is now supporting licensing in European and Latin American markets, further strengthening its proposition following a successful period of growth in the United States.
With experience of working with prominent industry brands including FanDuel, Bet365 and BetFanatics in North America, Compliable’s platform can now help companies complete, manage and maintain gaming licenses across multiple global jurisdictions.
Compliable is expanding into new markets at a time of increased regulatory obligations in numerous regions as well as a heightened demand from suppliers and vendors to get licensed from a reputational point of view.
Markets in Europe as well as emerging regions in Latin America are now supported by Compliable’s software solution, which enables operators and suppliers to enter new countries more quickly and reduces the ongoing burden of regulatory requirements.
Compliable’s software platform and tools provide customers both significant time and cost savings, as employees enter key information just once in the licensing process with the information then auto-populated across multiple forms, generating error-free applications every time.
The solution cuts the time it takes to get employees licensed by 90% to less than an hour, which has led to an increase of up to 700% in the number of employees that can be onboarded.
“Following discussions with our customers and prospects, it became clear that there is a demand for our market-leading licensing management solution outside of the United States and we are pleased to now be able to streamline the licensing process for even more companies in additional jurisdictions,” the Chief Executive Officer for Compliable, Chris Oltyan, said. “Licensing compliance can slow down your ability to expand into new markets but it doesn’t have to. Using our platform to remove bottlenecks in the acquisition and management of licenses frees up time and attention so our customers can focus on their go to market plans.”
Compliance Updates
ITIA: Croatian Official Suspended from Tennis
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed that Croatian tennis official Marko Stojanovic has been suspended from the sport for five years and six months after admitting to breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP).
Stojanovic, a national-level official, admitted to 15 breaches of the TACP, including manipulating data from matches in which they were an official to facilitate betting.
Stojanovic, who is accredited at national level and has officiated at ITF tournaments, co-operated fully with the ITIA investigation and accepted an agreed sanction, waiving their right to a hearing before an independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer. Stojanovic has also been fined $25,000, of which $18,750 is suspended.
The official’s agreed sanction began on 19 February 2024 and will end at midnight on 18 August 2029.
During the suspension, Stojanovic is prohibited from officiating at, or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by the members of the ITIA (ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, Fédération Française de Tennis, Wimbledon and USTA).
The ITIA is an independent body established by its tennis members to promote, encourage, enhance and safeguard the integrity of professional tennis worldwide.
Compliance Updates
MGA Successfully Hosts its First Sports Betting Integrity Conference
The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has hosted its first Sports Betting Integrity Conference, further cementing the Authority’s dedication to fostering open dialogue, knowledge-sharing and maintaining a gaming landscape that is free from corruption and any form of unethical practices.
The event convened high-profile stakeholders integral to the sports betting integrity sector, including the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), the eSports Integrity Commission (ESIC), Genius Sports and Sportradar.
Local stakeholders included the Malta Police Force, the Malta Football Association (MFA), the Authority for Integrity in Maltese Sports and the Office of the Attorney General.
Opening the conference, MGA CEO Charles Mizzi said: “As the MGA, ensuring the integrity of sports betting is not merely a regulatory obligation; it is a cornerstone of our commitment to fostering a fair and sustainable gaming environment.”
Mr Mizzi emphasised that the conference’s foremost objective was that of leading a united effort in addressing the complex challenges of maintaining integrity within sports and sports betting. As the industry continues to transform – introducing new technologies and increasingly sophisticated methods – success depends on the ability to share knowledge, experiences and best practices. Through this synergy, stakeholders can outpace those intent on corrupting the essence of sports and betting.
Such gatherings, therefore, serve as invaluable opportunities to pool resources and expertise, serving as catalysts for positive change. The Authority extends its gratitude to all attendees for their engagement and participation.
-
Central Europe6 days ago
Sponsors Spotlight: Pixpel Makes Crypto Games Safe and Fun for Players and Developers in Web3
-
Latest News7 days ago
1X2 Network strikes MrQ integration
-
Latest News7 days ago
Stakelogic Bolsters UK Presence with Exciting New Midnite Partnership
-
Industry News7 days ago
Inspired Launches Latest Virtual Sports Games with Planetwin365 in Italy
-
eSports7 days ago
Esports World Cup Adds Five More Game Titles to Summer 2024 Festival
-
Asia7 days ago
MapleStory Universe Enters into a Strategic Partnership with Avalanche
-
Asia4 days ago
Tencent benefits from multiple new game launches on Steam
-
Industry News6 days ago
Entain Appoints Ronald J. Kramer as Independent Non-Executive Director