How BGLC Proceeds of Crime Act compliance heralds Supreme Ventures Mobile Money by April 2016

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.