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  3. The Economic Crime Levy

Guidance

The Economic Crime Levy

Gambling Commission's guidance on the Economic Crime Levy and how licensed casino operators can prepare for it.

Published
30 March 2023

Last updated
19 October 2023 - Changes

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  1. Contents
  2. Introduction

Introduction

The Economic Crime Levy (ECL) is an annual charge on entities who are supervised under the Money Laundering Regulations (MLR) (opens new tab) and whose United Kingdom (UK) revenue is greater than £10.2 million per year.

The levy is being collected by the following three statutory anti-money laundering (AML) supervisors:

  • Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
  • HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
  • Gambling Commission (the Commission).

Each of these bodies already has responsibility for supervising businesses in certain sectors of the economy for the purposes of preventing money laundering, and will be responsible for collecting the levy from them.

The Commission will therefore be collecting the ECL from licensed casino operators.

The legal requirement for licensed casino operators to pay the ECL (where applicable) is stipulated under the Finance Act 2022 (opens in new tab).

The ECL is part of the government’s wider objective, outlined in the 2019 to 2022 Economic Crime Plan (ECP) (opens in new tab), to develop a long-term Sustainable Resourcing Model (SRM) to tackle economic crime. As one part of this SRM, and supported by ongoing government funding, the levy will aim to raise £100 million per year from the AML-regulated sector to pay for government initiatives outlined in the ECP to help tackle money laundering.

The government believes it is fair and proportionate that as the sector most exposed to money laundering risk, the AML-regulated sector should be the principal contributor to the reform initiatives that will benefit them and help make the UK a safer place for them to do business.

Licensed casino operators are now required to make yearly submissions to the Commission in relation to the levy.

Who must pay the ECL?

All licensed casino operators will be asked to submit their annual returns as part of this process. This includes Business-to-Business (B2B) casinos such as casino game host licence holders, as these casinos (along with other remote and non-remote casino licence holders) are regulated for AML purposes under The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (opens in new tab).

You must pay the ECL to the Commission if you are a licensed casino operator and your UK revenue is greater than £10.2 million in the financial year (pro-rated).

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