The Remote Gambling Association (RGA), established in August 2005 from a merger of the Association of Remote Gambling Operators (ARGO) and the Interactive Gaming, Gambling and Betting Association (IGGBA), represents most of the world's largest licensed and stock market-listed remote gambling companies. The London & Brussels -based trade association provides the industry with a single voice on all the issues of importance to regulators, legislators, and key decision makers around the world.

Yesterday the RGA issued practical guidelines to help companies in the online gambling industry combat money laundering. The guidelines have been developed from a report commissioned last year by the RGA from MHA Consulting. MHA was established in 1993 in anticipation of the impact of the UK Criminal Justice Act 1993 and the Money Laundering Regulations 1993. The company provides training, consulting and practical resources to firms across diverse industry sectors, including banking, securities and investment, insurance, legal, accounting and gaming.

The RGA states that there is a hierarchy of regulation where money laundering is concerned. This includes international regulation, such as the EU Money Laundering Directive, and national regulations which can be a combination of gambling licence conditions or broader laws which apply to a range of commercial activities. The RGA guidelines are not a substitute for any of these but are intended to augment them and to highlight some ways in which they might best be applied at a practical level.

There continues to be speculation about the level of money laundering involving online gambling and the risk to the industry in the future. The MHA report concluded that a combination of statutory and self regulation had effectively reduced the risk of money laundering through online gambling and that there were almost no examples of money laundering in licensed jurisdictions. However, it also underlined the need for the industry to remain vigilant; to work with regulators, law enforcement agencies and others to disseminate best practice; and to ensure that all related rules and guidelines keep pace with technological developments and the inventiveness of money launderers. (E-07.15.10)

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