EGBA reaffirms its commitment to fight money laundering in the EU

As the European Commission published proposals for two anti-money laundering (AML) Regulations and a revision of the current EU AML Directive, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has reaffirmed its commitment to work with all relevant regulatory bodies, including the European Commission, to fight money laundering in the EU.

“We welcome the efforts of the European Commission to continuously improve the EU framework for combatting money-laundering. EGBA members already apply the highest regulatory standards in AML compliance and are fully committed to tackling money laundering in the online gambling sector, said Ekaterina Hartmann, EGBA’s director. To support this, we are working closely with our members to develop EU-wide, sector-specific guidelines to help Europe’s online gambling companies comply with the increasingly complex AML rules in the EU”.

The European Commission’s proposals follow concern and criticism in recent years that some EU members states have not sufficiently implemented and enforced the EU’s current AML rulebook. Some of the changes proposed are also expected to affect Europe’s online gambling sector, including rules on the beneficial ownership, customer due diligence and the establishment of a new EU AML authority.

The proposals now have to go through the EU legislative process before being sent to the European Parliament and Council for discussion and approval, which might take up to 18 months. Once approved, the Regulations will immediately enter into force in all EU members states, which will have to transpose the Directive into national regulation.