This directive will replace the existing Directive 2015/849/EU. AMLD6 will contain provisions to become parts of national laww, such as rules on national supervisors and financial intelligence units in the Member States. This is the epilogue of concern and criticism in recent years that some EU member states have not sufficiently implemented and enforced EU current AML rules.

What will the entry into force of AMLD6 bring in practice, especially for the betting and gaming industry?

Special EU AML/TF Body – AMLA

The reform will envisage the creation of a new EU authority to fight money laundering. This is a part of the Commission’s commitment to protecting EU citizens and the EU’s financial system from money laundering and terrorist financing. A key focus will be on improving the detection of suspicious transactions and activities. EU will enhance cooperation among national financial intelligence units (FIUs) and will be the central authority coordinating national authorities, ensuring that the private sector applies the EU rules properly and consistently.

10.000 EUR threshold will be the mandatory limit throughout the entire EU

The new regulation will contain directly applicable rules, including in the areas of customer due diligence and beneficial ownership. It also includes the setting up of an EU-wide limit of €10,000 to large cash payments.

Control of Crypto Deposits

The EU 2015 Regulation on Transfers of Funds will be revised. This means it will now be possible for the transfer of crypto assets to be monitored and traced. Crypto deposits are a constantly growing means of payment in the betting and gaming industry from 2019 onwards.

Criminal liability for legal persons

Under the 6AML Directive, criminal liability can be applied against legal persons – companies and partnerships. Firms may be criminally liable for the actions of employees who engage in criminal activity. This will result in financial services businesses taking more responsibility in combating money laundering.

Wider list of ML predicate offences

AMLD6 harmonizes the definition of money laundering across the bloc with the primary aim to remove any loopholes in national legislation. The new, wider list of 22 predicate offenses supports this new definition and member states will be obligated to criminalize them.

How long before the AMLD6 becomes the law?

The legislative package will be discussed by the European Parliament and Council. The Commission is hopeful for a speedy legislative process. The AML authority should be operational in 2024 and will start the work of direct supervision slightly later, once the directive has been transposed and the new rules start to apply.

This document reflects the continuation of our approach aimed at creating the EU-wide policy proposals and information summaries to best familiarize the broad spectrum of the Industry’s stakeholders onto key regulatory challenges lying ahead.

The paper puts the emphasis on a comparative method, by comparing the current regulatory regime (with the 4 AML Directive in force) and the anticipated changes.

The document, part of our AML section, is available at the following page.

For these trends not to be burdensome, the Industry will continue insisting on strict dedication to free provision of services within the EU Internal Market, fair competition and reasonable and sustainable taxation.

For 2019, EOGL announces a further promotion of the Responsible Gaming measures. This step will encourage operators and associations to keep complying with best Industry practices on a global scale.

To this end, all the Board of Directors attendees agreed on the necessity of further improvement of contacts and cooperation with EU bodies in charge for gambling and supporting industries.