Two reprimands to Spilhuset.dk A/S for breach of the Anti-Money Laundering Act

The reprimands were issued in connection with the Danish Gambling Authority's inspection of Spilhuset.dk's material, which Spilhuset.dk has prepared to comply with the Danish Anti-Money Laundering Act (AML Act).

Reprimand for failure to check supplier

Reprimand A is issued because Spilhuset.dk has not sufficiently ensured that the specific gambling premises had the necessary ability and capacity to perform the tasks in a satisfactory manner prior to entering into the outsourcing agreement. Section 24(1) of the AML Act states that companies covered by the Act may contractually choose to outsource tasks that the company must perform in order to comply with the AML Act to a supplier. However, it is a condition that the company has ensured that the supplier has the necessary ability and capacity to perform these tasks in a satisfactory manner before entering into the outsourcing agreement. Spilhuset.dk has thus not complied with the outsourcing obligations, as an assessment according to section 24(1) could not be documented.   

Reprimand for failure to document ongoing controls

Reprimand B is issued because Spilhuset.dk has not fulfilled the obligation of ongoing control of the specific gambling premises, as Spilhuset.dk has not documented that it has been controlled that the retailer performed the task in accordance with the requirements of the AML Act since the start of sales via the retailer on 22 August 2019.

Section 24(2) of the AML Act states that companies under the outsourcing agreement must continuously monitor that the supplier performs the task in accordance with the requirements, and on this basis must continuously assess the soundness of the outsourcing agreement. Spilhuset.dk has thus not complied with the obligations of continuous control.

The Danish Gambling Authority assesses that a violation of the obligations in connection with outsourcing may have increased Spilhuset.dk's risk of being misused for money laundering. Section 24 of the AML Act on outsourcing is fundamental to the AML Act, and the seriousness of the violation has therefore led to two reprimands. 

No obligation to act 

The reprimands do not entail any obligation to act for Spilhuset.dk A/S, as the breaches no longer exists.

Learning points 

Gambling operators should ask themselves the following questions based on the breaches identified above to ensure that they cannot be misused for money laundering or financing of terrorism: 

• Do you have documentation that, prior to the outsourcing agreement, you have ensured that the supplier can perform the outsourcing tasks in a satisfactory manner according to anti-money laundering regulations?
• Do you have a proper cadence for ongoing supplier monitoring based on your risk assessment?
• Do you document that there is ongoing control of the supplier and that you continuously assess the soundness of the outsourcing based on this?