The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Dutch Gaming Authority, has updated its Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act.
Known more commonly as the AML Act, or Wwft, this applies to all forms of gambling in the country, across both land-based and online providers.
As part of this, operators must constantly monitor transactions from customers and report anything that breaches guidelines to the Dutch Financial Intelligence Unit. In the updated guidelines, the KSA explains the importance of AML, stating: “Obscuring or disguising the origin of criminal earnings money enables individuals to escape the hands of government agencies among others to stay and also benefit from the criminally earned money.
“This can be done, for example, by using that money to acquire a position in the upper world and thus exert influence (undermining).
“Therefore, money laundering is a serious threat to society, the economy and also affects integrity of the financial sector.”
Prior to this update, the AML guidelines were last amended on 1 April, 2021 alongside the Remote Gambling Act. The updates include a step-by-step plan that operators can follow to investigate a player’s source of income, including examples.
According to the new guidelines, there are a range of triggers that can launch an investigation, depending on what kind of games the customer is playing. For example, if the person under suspicion is playing poker but losing large amounts to the same player over and over again or if a player is betting on all possible outcomes on a game of chance, such as betting on both red and black.
Another factor the KSA has warned operators to watch out for is people using unusual denominations and amounts of notes in land-based casinos, or using a different card to withdraw than the one used to deposit for online casinos.
