Swedish gaming operators filing money laundering reports increased by 14.8% in 2020 compared to 2019
Swedish operators filed 705 cases of presumed money laundering to the financial police in 2020, an 14.8% increase from 2019. This was assumed to be the result of the increased activity in online gambling as the COVID-19 pandemic forced land-based venues to shut down.
Despite these figures, Sweden’s Gambling Authority Spelinspektionen contend that the number of cases may be misrepresented as less than half of the 70 licensed operators submitted reports in 2020. As a result, only 27 operators filed reports in 2020 compared to 30 in 2019.?Additionally, Spelinspektionen highlighted that the reports are simply suspicions of monetary laundering that do not need evidence.?
The amount flagged in the reports for money laundering cases were between SEK10,000 (€985) and SEK100,000 (€9,858) according to the police.?
The financial police in Sweden contend that the rise in money laundering cases is a consequence of the pandemic and the online casino deposit limits pushing players to use offshore operators.
It was recommended that to mitigate money laundering there should be:
- greater control over transfers to gaming accounts
- increased monitoring of suspicious gambling activity
- more control and supervision of licensees
- increased studies on the impacts of COVID-19 on the gaming market
See also: Swedish gambling industry satisfaction rate reached 64% in 2020
Source: Focus Gaming News
SiGMA Roadshow – Next stop Las Vegas:
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Our Virtual Roadshow reflects SiGMA’s gobal events opening in 5 major regions over the next few years, specifically Europe, the CIS region, Asia, the Americas, and Africa. Our previous virtual event, held in Ukraine, welcomed over 2,500 delegate registrations and over 1,500 conference views. There were also over 75 exhibitors and the number of total booth entries hit close to a 6k mark. SiGMA expects more of the same with our Las Vegas Virtual Roadshow and should you want to be part of it – REGISTER?HERE.
