Topics covered in this issue:

Netherlands get a New Gambling Act: The Betting and Gaming Act

The Dutch Remote Gambling Act (Wet kansspelen op afstand) came into effect on April 1^st, and this places the official launch for licensed operations to begin by October 1, 2021. Operators have been preparing over the past few years for the licensing regime and applicants who were able to submit by April 15^th have the better chance of going live by October. Those who fail to meet all licensing requirements or apply past April will not be able to meet the July inspections and will be required to wait for a later consideration date. 

Gambling operators who can prove that they have not targeted the Dutch market for the last two years are eligible to apply for licenses with the The Dutch Regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).

For existing operators this will give them the opportunity to expand their offerings, giving new operators the ability to offer online sports betting, poker, horse and harness racing, and casino games such as roulette and blackjack. As part of the new licensing requirements, operators must have the following systems in place:

KYC Plan: Identifying all players and verifying their age.

• The KSA expects KYC and AML procedures to comply with the Dutch Prevention of Money-Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act (Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financieren van terrorisme) and the Dutch Sanctions Act (Sanctiewet). 
• An identity check through either the Dutch banking iDIN system, or something similar to it, as part of the onboarding process is permissible.

ID verification includes:

• An iDIN check
• An IBAN check
• A CRUKS check
• An ID scan

Player Protection and Account Verification systems

• CDD measures to monitor players’ funds 
• Have in place sufficient policies to prevent player addiction 
• Have a connection to the Cruks Exclusion Register (register for problem gamblers), which the KSA shall access (publication June 2021)
• Register near real-time gaming data in a Dutch database
• Connected to the Cruks Exclusion Register by 1 October

Advertising Plans 

• Advertising cannot be geared towards minors, vulnerable groups, nor can it be misleading (e.g,. by giving the impression that a prize is to be won)

With the introduction of the Wet KOA, the Gambling Regulator expects to draw the majority of players away from illegal gambling and into a regulated market.  

French Cyber Security Agency Releases new standards for Automated Identity Verification Solutions

April 1 marked a regulatory due date for several European sectors, including France. France’s Cyber Security Agency (ANSSI) opened its approval process to the long-awaited standards for AML remote identity verification that are applicable under the banking supervisor, Prudential and Resolution Control Authority (ACPR) new AML measures from February 2020.

The amendments to the Financial Code require an obliged entity or service provider implement any combination of two KYC applications among the six newly proposed measures, including:

The use of a service that has been “certified compliant by ANSSI at the Substantial Assurance Level” within the meaning of the eIDAS Regulation. ANSSI has published the technical and administrative requirements for synchronous attended and unattended processes under the “PVID” standard as of March 2021. The certification and approval process must be completed in France and approved by ANSSI.

The PVID standard makes it possible to provide more automated remote services so long as its implementation meets relevant risk management (e.g., identity theft, fraudulent data, and deep fake attempts), policy, and procedural measures. 

France Issues Know Your Customer Requirements on All Cryptocurrencies

Last December, the French Ministry of Finance mandated that know-your-customer (KYC) requirements would be required on all cryptocurrency companies operating and or serving France. The mandate states that all virtual asset service providers would have to immediately begin checking their customers’ identities, verifying “beneficial owners” and prohibit anonymous crypto accounts from all transactions €0 onwards and this applies to crypto to crypto or crypto to fiat transactions as well. These rules apply to crypto firms that are based in France or any firms that actively target French residents. 

Currently, mandatory registration rules and firms had until December 2020 to be licensed with a six-month period to comply. 

Germany’s Federal Network Agency, (BNetzAG ) Amends existing Trust Services Act

The Federal Network Agency announced in April that it will permit other alternative procedures with appropriate certification to be used as remote identification methods for trust services. Specifically mentioned is the identification of a natural person using video identification with an automated procedure. While the standards for certification remain high, such recognition is a welcome development. There is a trend to incorporate automated solutions in identity proofing with robust security requirements throughout Europe. Several member states are either in the process, or have evaluated automated solutions, requiring a hybrid solution with human intervention or NFC  capability. 

Shortly after the amendment was issued, discussions around competitive disadvantages within the German Trust Services market began amongst service providers, customers of trust services, and German industry associations. The focus has also turned to the potential amendments and evaluation of the German AML Act in relation to such developments.  While the application for a KYC identification is not recognized within the amended Trust Services Act, these developments do open the floor to further discussions on European trends in AML /KYC applications, the future of video and automated solutions also in relation to the eIDAS amendments happening at the EU level. 

Bahrain Rolls Out eKYC Platform. 

Following its April 2019 announcement, The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has finally deployed its eKYC platform for use by private financial institutions in the nation. The platform uses a national ID database and common API to be used inside institutional applications. Though government has had the ability to use this for some time, this program will permit this for private sector banks and relevant institutions. Government officials are touting speed, security, and privacy for users and institutions who use this platform, and the hopes for success in this realm are high. 

Trade Arabia

A Pair of Research Papers Foresee Continued Breakneck Growth in eKYC Market.

Management / research consultancies Fatpos Global and Facts and Factors have undertaken the task of quantifying the growth of the eKYC industry, and the results are somewhat similar. Each effort has shown that industry-wide annual revenue of eKYC firms, break USD $1 billion by 2026 with an expectation to meet or exceed USD $1.5 billion by 2030. Each firm predicts industry growth to be in the range of 22% to 25% per year in this time frame. 

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