Bengal ng pilipinas (BSP) attempts to tighten regulations Regarding online gambling payments to prevent abuse of financial services and implement close monitoring of the industry.
The central bank has published a draft notice on its website aimed at formulating regulations on online gambling payment services.
The proposed rules are intended to “promote the responsible use of digital financial services, strengthen financial consumer protection, maintain financial health, and mitigate social and financial risks associated with online gambling.”
“To this end, it is necessary to ensure that the digital payment services of PSPs (payment service providers) do not abuse socially harmful and financially healthy activities,” BSP said.
The thriving gaming industry in the Philippines is now exploring increased scrutiny on Philippine addiction and financial problems.
Ministry of Finance Taxes on online gaming, as well as other possible measures have been proposed to crimp the public’s access to digital gambling platforms, such as imposing restrictions on payment time or cash.
According to the BSP’s proposed notice, these regulations can cover PSPs engaged in these services as well as operators of payment systems (OPSS) Online gambling operator.
It aims to establish standards and expectations for PSPs when providing online gambling payment services and set up enhanced knowledge customers It said it would be necessary to maintain applicable laws that prohibit access and participation in online gambling.
Under the draft rules, PSP and OPSS participate in or intend to engage in online gambling payment services must obtain prior permission from the central bank.
They must also maintain a minimum capital rate of Phillipino pesos of 300 million and a comprehensive rating of no less than three according to the BSP supervision assessment framework.
PSP and OPS must also have strong anti-money laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) risk management; strong fraud management systems and AML/CTF compliance committee committees.
No link
The central bank also wants to ban payment providers from including links to online gambling platforms.
It added: “PSPs that provide or facilitate online gambling payment services are not allowed to provide links to online gambling websites, or to provide any feature to redirect users to the online gambling operator platform.”
To enhance monitoring, the draft also requires PSP to provide a separate online gambling trading account (OGTA) facility for qualified account holders.
OGTA refers to “a specific transaction account that should be created in the Qualified Account Owner instance in order to participate in online gambling”.
Eligible account owners can only have one OGTA, which can only be funded by transfers from the same bank or institution.
PSPs must also ensure mandatory facial biometric verification for account openness and regular facial biometric re-verification to mitigate fraud.
Payment service providers should also strictly monitor OGTA transactions in accordance with anti-money laundering risk management policies.
For example, transferring funds to OGTA will be subject to daily restrictions, which should not exceed 20% of the average daily balance of the eligible owner trading account. PSP must refuse incoming fund transfers beyond the above limits.
It said: “The relevant PSP should set up transaction windows that can provide online gambling payment services, and such transaction windows should not exceed six hours a day.”
“If the relevant PSP definition uses a large amount of online gambling payment services, a 24-hour cooling period should be implemented so that only the next transfer can be made Errors during the above period. ”
When a user creates an OGTA, all loan options in the same digital platform should also be disabled.
The BSP also said that PSPs and OPS must adopt prudent acceptance standards and procedures to mount and monitor online gambling operators.
It added: “The PSP and OPS in question should only interact with online gambling operators who are reputable and comply with government registration, license and other relevant requirements.”
BSP said online gambling operators are considered “high-risk businessmen” and that will require improved due diligence for PSP and OPS.
In addition to conducting beneficial ownership verification, PSPs and OPS must “understand, evaluate, analyze and regularly evaluate the overall potential risks of online gambling operators.”
Responsible gambling
Under the proposed rules, PSPs must also develop responsible online gambling policies to “promote responsible gambling and enable account owners to exercise self-control and prevent gambling addiction.”
Under this policy, a mandatory or periodic pop-up alert will be determined based on its use.
“The relevant PSP must highlight notifications in their digital platforms to inform users of the available responsible gambling tools, OGTA restrictions, and access to support resources.”
It added: “The PSPs in question may also develop other plans and plans to promote responsible gaming and help prevent compulsive or irresponsible gambling.”
Under the rules, employees of PSP and OPS are also prohibited from engaging in gambling and any form of online gambling.
Violation of these rules will result in sanctions or monetary fines. The maximum penalty for violations of the nature of the continuation or for each transaction violation shall not exceed P100,000 per calendar day.
Non-monetary sanctions include the power to suspend online gambling payment services for first-time crimes. For a second offence, this would result in the revocation of the power to provide the above services and the suspension of the right to settle through the payment and settlement system.
“The supervisory authority in Bangladesh should determine whether there is any violation and should inform PSP of such violation.”
It added: “Once such violation is notified, the PSP will immediately stop its online gambling payment service until the PSP achieves full compliance.” – Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
