On Wednesday 6 September, the Betting and Gaming Council held the 2023 Gambling Anti-Money Laundering Group (GAMLG) Training Day. Building on the success of our inaugural GAMLG Training Day last year, this has become an annual fixture, providing a platform for the industry to share knowledge and raise standards as a collective on the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing space.
Supported Betting and Gaming Council and independently chaired by Keith Bristow KPM, GAMLG was established in 2016 to enable the professionalisation of the cross-industry response to money laundering risks. While gambling is rated as low risk in the Government’s National Risk Assessment, the industry is determined to drive up standards and encourage best practice across its membership to keep crime out of gambling.
The focus of the day was to share best practice and discuss topical issues for the gambling sector in the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing space. The event was attended by over 100 members from across over 40 different organisations, including Entain, Flutter, Betfred, Playtech, Buzz Group and Genting. The aim of the day was to encourage operators of all sizes to consider key emerging risks, best practice and developments, reflecting the diversity of compliance functions across BGC operators.
Members heard from Senior Manager, Jamie Colley, from the Gambling Commission on AML compliance. We also had Harri Gwynllyw, Senior Officer at the UK Financial Intelligence Unit speak to the group about SARs best practice. Further sessions on AML fundamentals, GC Guidance implementation and response after identifying an AML problem were delivered by various industry leaders as well as a panel discussion on source of funds and source of wealth checks.
BGC members will continue to work through GAMLG to raise standards across the sector in keeping crime out of gambling.