A new national risk assessment backed by a detailed 30-point action plan showed that the government is inclined towards a tougher stance against betting-related financial crimes. The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), the main government body responsible for betting and gambling, will lead the changes and be the main guardian of the currently thriving industry. The aim is to outsmart criminals who keep on inventing old and new ways of laundering money through gambling.
The changes include the reclassification of certain services that have a higher propensity for money laundering. Both online, bookmakers and private members’ clubs are presently identified as high-risk. These clubs have always been operating almost in a loophole of the formal gambling laws, but now such a loophole is gradually being closed. Soon these clubs will have to be licensed just like the regulated betting companies.
Cash is another area that has raised a lot of concerns. Authorities maintain that physical cash which leaves very little or no track or trail, is the main attraction for those who want to conceal the source of their money. Betting businesses on the ground with huge cash turnovers are the most vulnerable ones. Nevertheless, online gambling also remains a matter of concern. Speedy digital transactions and new payment methods have contributed to the difficulties of monitoring suspicious behavior on a large scale.
Even cryptocurrency is emerging as a topic of regulatory focus. GRAI is aiming to introduce new industry-wide standards concerning gambling websites’ use of the digital assets. Operators will be forced to operate within “closed-loop” systems so that the customers can only withdraw the winnings in the same account that was used for making the deposits. The idea behind this regulation is to prevent money from bouncing between different accounts. The blueprint is dependent on a partnership between police, financial regulators and tax authorities to organize all supervision into one body, the GRAI.
The Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said that Ireland must stay flexible and ready to respond to new threats in a rapidly changing digital world. These reform plans are also an outcome of the government’s progressive gambling regulations that have introduced the highest level of financial punishment and severe terms for operators to date.
Editor-in-chief and creator Cole Smith of casinocurrencies.com, has extensive experience with casino payment systems, The site was created to provide an honest and trustworthy resource for online gambling players.