Looks like I can't hang out at the Supreme Ventures
Gaming lounge anymore playing Jus Bet!
Turns out new regulations issued by the BGLC
(Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission) means gamblers can no longer bet
anonymously as reported in the article “Gamers
Wary Of New Anti-Money Laundering Regulations”, published Sunday January
10, 2016 by Jason Cross, The Jamaica
Gleaner.
The new regulations require that gaming lounge
operators will force patrons to provide the following before they can place
bets:
1. New
bank account
2. Proper
GOJ (Government of Jamaica) identification
3. Reference
letters
4. Declaration
of source of funds
These new regulations are expected to take effect
come April 2015 and will make many gamblers really upset, as cruising their
favourite gaming lounge will be equivalent to going to a bank to get a loan.
Not only is this inconvenient, but it's also a breach of privacy.
So why has the BGLC suddenly taken this drastic
step?
BGLC
and Proceeds of Crime Act - Why BGLC regulations heralds Mobile Money by April
2016
The BGLC is in charge of regulating gaming lounges,
casinos and any form of gambling that takes place in Jamaica. Part of that job
is to prevent gambling being used by criminals and drug dons to launder money
from sales of crack cocaine as well as guns and marijuana.
So in compliance with the Proceeds of Crime Act and
its regulations, local gaming-lounge operators will have to verify patrons in
much the same way a bank does to make sure all of their transactions are above
board. Currently, this policy change, which has been in open discussion since
2013, only affects gaming lounges.
But eventually the BGLC will require that persons
playing other lottery games, such as Super Lotto and Cash Pot, possess these
things as well.
This falls in line with Supreme Venture's plans to
launch a Mobile Money Platform as well as making it possible for users of their
Supreme Ventures App to place bets from their smartphones as predicted in my blog article
entitled “Supreme
Ventures Limited IFLEX Betting Platform Upgrade - How Mobile Gambling via
Smartphone is finally coming to Jamaica”.
Personally, I have no problem with these
regulations, as if they're collecting my bank account information, at least I
can have then send my millions straight to the bank instead of having to go to Supreme
Ventures headquarters to collect my money.
Having verified users with bank accounts as per the
BGLC regulations would make it possible to not only have a Mobile Money
Platform but placing bets and receiving your remittance money as well as
gambling winnings money ready to spend when you win.
Hopefully they'll beat GraceKennedy and Digicel, who
have partnered with Paymaster to make Mobile money a reality as predicted in my
blog article
entitled “Why
Digicel's purchase of Paymaster means Mobile Money is launching in 2016”.
Clearly patrons are vexed, but the long term
benefits of keeping money launderers out means convenient betting from your
couch will become a reality.
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