(PRESS RELEASE) -- The Gaming Supervisory Authority imposed a fine of €468,350 on the gaming company VSGA (which operates the Casino Admiral brand) for improperly verifying the origin of customer funds on 2 April. The investigation was conducted after receiving information that a natural person had lost a large amount of money in several companies, including VSGA.
The LPT, which conducted the inspection, found that VSGA did not comply with the legal requirement to collect information about the customer and the origin of their funds allocated for gambling before allowing gambling. Gambling organizers are also required to monitor customer behavior and ensure that the amounts they bet correspond to the specified sources of funds.
Since VSGA did not have sufficient information about the client's sources of funds, it was unable to properly monitor his gambling and identify suspicious transactions.
LPT inspection conclusion - VSGA did not properly comply with the requirements of the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing regarding customer due diligence, monitoring of business relationships and individual customer money laundering and terrorist financing risk management. The company also did not ensure that information about suspicious monetary transactions was submitted to the Financial Crimes Investigation Service. All these measures are necessary for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.
When imposing the fine, the Supervisory Authority took into account mitigating circumstances. VSGA has not previously committed violations related to the requirements for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. The company cooperated with the LPT during the inspection.
The Supervisory Authority annually organizes training for gambling and lottery organizers to strengthen the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. It has also adopted mandatory instructions aimed at preventing money laundering and/or terrorist financing. Both individual and general consultations are provided on the issues of the aforementioned instructions and the implementation of the law.
The decision on the VSGA can still be appealed to the court.