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& Ince, in any case

10-05-2023 / Gaming & Betting

Andrew Cotton, Director of Betting and Gaming, provides his initial thoughts on the major beneficiaries of the proposed reforms, land-based casinos, following publication of the UK Government's White Paper on Gambling Reform on 27 April 2023.

08-11-2021 / Gaming & Betting

Meet our gaming experts at SiGMA, Malta from 15-19 November

23-09-2021 / Gaming & Betting

The report on the government’s independent review of the collapse of Football Index was published yesterday. It is important to note that the terms of reference did not include an assessment of how the product should have been regulated, nor was the purpose of the review to apportion blame for the company’s collapse.

23-09-2021 / Gaming & Betting

“Both the frequency and severity of enforcement is increasing all the time,” Tait told ACAMS moneylaundering.com. “Operators are struggling to keep pace with … new regulations and rigid enforcement, and having to divert more and more resources to try and stem the tide.”

21-09-2021 / Gaming & Betting

Join the team at the KPMG Gibraltar eSummit

09-11-2020 / Gaming & Betting

The Gambling Commission has published a consultation for the remote sector to improve standards of Customer Interaction.

23-10-2020 / Gaming & Betting

See the latest edition of Lexology ‘Getting The Deal Through - Fintech 2021’, in which our industry experts, Peter Howitt, David Borge and Kunal Budhrani, discuss the Fintech landscape and initiatives in Gibraltar.

08-10-2020 / Gaming & Betting

From 31 October 2020 gambling operators in the UK must adhere to strict guidance relating to High Value Customer or “VIP” schemes.

05-08-2020 / Gaming & Betting

Gibraltar has published the latest National Risk Assessment (NRA), which includes an Executive Summary providing the main threats and vulnerabilities of Money Laundering (ML), Terrorist Financing (TF) and Proliferation Financing (PF) that Gibraltar faces.

10-06-2020 / Gaming & Betting

2020 is a year that will not be easily forgotten, in particular due to the Covid-19 virus pandemic which continues to have a profound effect globally on all facets of everyone’s lives.

05-03-2020 / Gaming & Betting

Licensed premises, including bars, pubs, clubs, casinos and bingo halls should take legal advice from specialist licensing lawyers to ensure they can continue trading through the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

28-11-2019 / Gaming & Betting

This article was first published in the ICLG to: Gambling 2020 We are pleased to share that Andrew Tait and Michelle Walsh recently contributed to a chapter on 'Globalisation vs. AML Regulation' in the sixth edition of the ICLG (International Comparative Legal Guides) Gambling 2020 guide. The guide covers common issues in gambling laws and regulations – including relevant authorities and legislation, application for a licence, licence restrictions, digital media, enforcement and liability across 39 jurisdictions.

10-04-2019 / Gaming & Betting

This article was first published in EGR Compliance, April 2019. Now that the anti-gambling lobby has won the battle over reduced stakes on FOBTs, attention has turned back to the online sector. Despite the rates of problem gambling remaining static at 0.8% of the UK population, this still leaves us with 340,000 or so problem gamblers. Therefore, as identified by Tracey Crouch, the then DCMS minister, in her May 2018 review, the next area of focus is the online sector

03-01-2019 / Gaming & Betting

AML Compliance and Enforcement Seminar, brought to you by Ince Gordon Dadds & iGaming Academy. Tuesday 15 January 2019, Intercontinental Hotel Malta – 1.00pm – 8.00pm.

27-11-2018 / Gaming & Betting

Malta Update: Like many other EU jurisdictions, Malta was late in updating its AML regulations in line with the 4th Money Laundering Directive, only doing so on the 21 December 2017, well past the 26 June 2017 deadline. However it’s not alone with countries such as Ireland still without updated regulations.

12-11-2018 / Gaming & Betting

Unregulated gaming covers a wide remit of products, including esports, fantasy sports, house raffles, social casinos, prize competitions and many more constructions to bring them outside the legal definition of gambling, comprising games of chance, betting and lotteries. The advantages of being outside the regulatory net are substantial in the form of reduced costs, no gaming duty and freedom from regulatory compliance.

12-09-2018 / Gaming & Betting

This article was first published in EGR Compliance September 2018. The UK Gambling Commission’s stance on regulatory enforcement since 2015 has significantly changed from one relying on the letter of the law to one focused on the spirit of the law. The Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) have evolved to enshrine this change, with the emphasis now on operators to apply the licensing objectives in a more subjective manner.

12-09-2018 / Gaming & Betting

This article was first published in EGR Compliance September 2018. Earlier this week Andrew Tait debated whether the Commission’s uplift in enforcement activity could be perceived as perhaps a step too far; click here to see the article. Today he discusses the flip side, with the question: is it actually a blessing in disguise?

07-09-2018 / Gaming & Betting

At the remote gambling sector meeting held by the Gambling Commission (“Commission”) in Birmingham on Friday 9 June 2017 the Commission announced that it would be carrying out compliance assessments on remote casino operators to review their anti-money laundering (“AML”) controls.

22-05-2018 / Gaming & Betting

Andrew Tait's article was first published by Gambling Insider on 14 May 2018 Regulation and compliance is becoming increasingly holistic in the gaming industry. Both in the UK and across Europe, new regulations are bringing the industry together in terms of process and protection for its players and operators. European jurisdictions are aligning their focus and in particular on three key issues; the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) Money Laundering and Problem Gambling. What we’re currently witnessing is the convergence of compliance in the gaming industry at an international level.

01-05-2018 / Gaming & Betting

With so much happening in the sector recently, our betting and gaming team has put together a succinct overview of the pertinent developments, alongside practical suggestions to help operators stay ahead of the curve

28-02-2018 / Gaming & Betting

The report: In December 2017, the GB Gambling Commission (‘GC’) published the results of its annual survey which studies the exposure of children in Britain to gambling. Andrew Tait, partner at Ince Gordon Dadds, analyses the results of this survey, and considers the possible incitements to children to gamble, and what action might be taken about it.

20-09-2017 / Gaming & Betting

Andrew Tait and Andrew Cotton's article was first published by Online Gambling Lawyer in August 2017Following its consultation which ran from January until April 2017, the GB Gambling Commission (Commission') has this summer implemented its revised enforcement regime This carries some major changes, such as around the presumption of settlementsnbspHere, Andrew Tait and Andrew Cotton of Ince Gordon Dadds analyse the important changes and also the implications for operators, drawing upon the lessons learnt from recent Commission enforcement action such as that involving BGO and Lottoland

20-09-2017 / Gaming & Betting

Following its consultation which ran from January until April 2017, the GB Gambling Commission (‘Commission’) has this summer implemented its revised enforcement regime. This carries some major changes, such as around the presumption of settlements. Here, Andrew Tait and Andrew Cotton of Ince Gordon Dadds analyse the important changes and also the implications for operators, drawing upon the lessons learnt from recent Commission enforcement action such as that involving BGO and Lottoland.

02-08-2017 / Gaming & Betting

This article was first published in G3 Newswire, August 2017ince, a legal and professional services firm, is urging the British licensed remote gambling sector to prepare for the latest proposed changes to the Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) or risk a licence review.

17-07-2017 / Gaming & Betting

The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on Payer) Regulations 2017, which came into force on June 26 2017, replace the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and transpose the 4th EU Anti money Laundering (AML) Directive. Equivalent regulations have also been implemented in many other EU jurisdictions recently.

17-07-2017 / Gaming & Betting

On 23rd June 2016 the UK electorate voted by a proportion of 52% to 48% to leave the European Union (EU). The Cameron government made a manifesto commitment to hold an in/out referendum to settle the question of the UK’s membership, hoping that the “re-negotiation” of several conditions of membership would stem the rise of the UK Independence Party and secure a vote to remain.

22-06-2017 / Gaming & Betting

Andrew Tait's article was published by and appeared in Online Gaming Lawyer, March 2017As widely reported in the national press, a recent FA Cup tie saw Wayne Shaw, at the time a reserve goalkeeper for Sutton United, eat a pie on the touchline during his team's match against Arsenal FC The incident has led to both Shaw and operator Sun Bets being investigated by the Football Association and the British Gambling Commission after it emerged that Sun Bets was offering 81 odds that Shaw would eat a pie during the match, and Shaw admitting that he was aware of the specific bet being offered The investigation will look at matters of betting integrity involved in the incident, and serves as a test case for the area of novelty bets, which has previously been the focus of regulatory attention last year the Commission warned operators of the risks of offering bets in novelty markets Andrew Tait of Ince Gordon Dadds discusses the case and the possible consequences for Sun Bets, and the lessons to be drawn for operators

20-06-2017 / Gaming & Betting

UK Government Treasury published its draft Money Laundering Regulations 2017 on 15 March 2017. This draft factored in the outcome of a National AML Risk Assessment which sought to identify areas of high risk across the multitude of Regulated Industries subject to the 4AMLD. This determination between high and low risk is key as it allows national regulators to exempt low risk elements from the ambit of the 4AMLD. The draft was open to further consultation and comments with a deadline of 12 April 2017. The results of this consultation have not yet been published as of the 20 June, just a week before the 4AMLD is supposed to be transposed into UK law.

09-06-2017 / Gaming & Betting

The UK Gambling Commission expect their B2C licensees to carry out their own legal and regulatory due diligence on targeted territories they provide facilities for gambling to, and which generate revenues of 3% or more of their total (or 10% where global revenues are less than £5M). The test is not proscriptive but does require an assessment of the risks associated with each territory to determine if on balance, the decision to continue taking businesses from there is based on “reasonable assumptions and a coherent rationale”. Similarly B2B licensees will also need to justify where their revenues are coming from, and to specify controls they have in place to ensure that their B2C customers are not using their technologies and services to generate revenues from “grey” or especially “black” markets.

28-03-2017 / Gaming & Betting

We are delighted that Wendy Hopkins, David Ruck and Tony Coles have been included in the Best Lawyers® rankings for the United Kingdom 2018.

24-10-2016 / Gaming & Betting

Further to the changes to the Social Responsibility Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) implemented last year the Gambling Commission have now completed the review of the crime-related provisions. The revised version of LCCP as referenced in Andrew Cotton’s recent article will take effect on 31 October 2016. Details of the new AML licence conditions have been reproduced below for ease of reference.

13-09-2016 / Gaming & Betting

Andrew Cotton's article was first published by the World Online Gambling Law Report on 12 August 2016 Against the background of the EU 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (‘4AMLD’), which member States are required to transpose into national law by June 2017, the British Gambling Commission (‘GC’) has published a revised version of its Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (‘LCCP’) including significant provisions relating to AML, which will take effect on 31 October 2016. Andrew Cotton, Associate and Director of Betting and Gaming at Ince Gordon Dadds, analyses here both the new AML provisions within the amended LCCP and how these relate to a number of recent AML failings by GC-licensed operators over the past year or so.

07-04-2016 / Gaming & Betting

Following the merger between Betfair and Paddy Power, the second and third largest betting shop operators, Ladbrokes and Coral are now in the process of an attempted merger which would see the newnbspmerged entity overtake William Hill as the largest betting shop operator in Great Britain

06-01-2016 / Gaming & Betting

Andrew Cotton and Tony Coles' article was published by Global Gaming Business Magazine in December 2015A review of UK regulatory developments including the UK point of consumption regulatory regime a year on

06-06-2023 / Gaming & Betting

We are delighted to be attending the International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL) Spring Conference, taking place in Seattle from 27 to 29 April 2022.