Last week, The New Zealand gambling authority Spelinspektionen reported that they have introduced a new system for gambling operators (online casinos as well as land-based casinos in New Zealand) to report suspicions of attempted money laundering and terrorist financing.

The new system is called goAML and will be opened on december 9, 2019 for Game operators to apply to be part of it. On the 13th of January 2020, reporting via goAML will be available to interested parties, i.e. the gaming operators and the land-based casinos. As of March 1, 2020, it is only possible to submit reports via the new AML system while the old system has been discontinued completely.

One important thing that the New Zealand gambling authority wants to emphasize is that gambling operators who want to report suspected money laundering and/or terrorist financing only need to use one of the existing systems. This means that if a gaming operator has already received permission to submit via the new system but has already submitted via the previous system, they do not need to submit the same reporting again using the new system.

Why has the Spelinspektionen introduced this new AML system?

Many people wonder why Spelinspektionen has chosen to start with a brand new AML-system called as I said was goAML-system. The idea is that the new system will also allow other relevant authorities to access the information, such as the financial Police.

The system is developed by the United Nations and is used by several nations involved in a collaborative effort to primarily combat terrorist financing at the global level while the fight against money laundering takes place at the national level for each nation, including New Zealand as in this case.

In the past, we have reported on Spelinspektionen that issued fines to certain gambling operators in New Zealand who failed to prevent money laundering. Hopefully, the new system introduced will make it easier for all parties concerned so that fewer fines are handed out to operating gaming operators in New Zealand on the New Zealand gaming market.

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