Private Members’ Clubs (PMCs)

Persons directing Private Members’ Clubs (PMCs) where gambling activities are carried on are described as ‘designated persons’ under section 25(1)(h) of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 as amended (“the 2010 Act as amended”). Under the 2010 Act as amended, a PMC at which gambling is carried on is a ‘designated person.’ A designated person is a category of business which must guard against its business being used for money laundering or terrorist financing purposes.

Registration

PMCs at which gambling is carried on are obliged under s.109 of the 2010 Act as amended to register with the Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Unit (AMLCU) in the Department of Justice.

The registration form is available here.

If you fail to register as a Private Members’ Club, under  Section 109 of the Act  you are committing an offence and you are liable:

• • On summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months (or both), or
  • On conviction on indictment, to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years (or both).

Requirement for Certificates of Fitness

In order to be able to register with the AMLCU, the PMC must submit the appropriate certificates of fitness to the AMLCU along with the registration form. Section 109A of the Act as amended sets out that an individual who effectively directors a PMC at which gambling is carried on or is the beneficial owner of such an entity must hold a certificate of fitness and probity.

PMCs are required to apply to An Garda Síochána for the certificate of fitness, where the persons who direct the club or are the beneficial owners are ordinarily resident in the State.

They should apply to the Minister for Justice (the AMLCU) where the persons who direct the club or are the beneficial owners are ordinarily resident outside the State (section 109B of the 2010 Act as amended refers.) The certificates of fitness must be submitted with the registration form to the AMLCU.

The relevant forms can be found in the forms and guides section of this website along with a copy of Statutory Instrument No. 272/2022 – Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 (Section 109B) (Certificate of Fitness) Regulations 2022 available here.

Operating without a certificate of fitness in place for all individuals who effectively direct or are the beneficial owners of a PMC is a criminal offence. A certificate of fitness remains valid for 3 years. Persons that effectively direct or are the beneficial owners of such clubs are required to reapply to An Garda Síochána or the Minister for Justice for a certificate of fitness before the end of this period.

Obligations on PMCs at which gambling is carried on as designated persons under the 2010 Act as amended

The 2010 Act as amended contains obligations that apply to designated persons. These are summarised under.

Table 2: Overview of the Designated Person’s obligations under the 2010 Act as amended

We believe that a PMC has a business relationship with its clients and in that context should identify and verify the identity of all members, as well as carrying out due diligence prior to occasional transactions and due diligence or enhanced due diligence as required in the context of all obligations under sections 33-39 above. In case of a PMC at which gambling is carried on, an occasional transaction is when the amount (i) paid to the designated person by the customer, or(ii) paid to the customer by the designated person, is in aggregate not less than €2,000.

Each PMC in applying a risk-based approach, should maintain their own lists of documents, which they will accept in satisfaction of customer due diligence obligations and in accordance with relevant national and international laws and standards.

Acceptable documents used for identification are typically a passport, driving licence or some other form of government-issued identification.

Verification via proof of address is typically achieved by a utility bill, financial institution statement or official correspondence dated within 6 months.

Where possible, we recommend that verification of a customer’s identity should take place when the person is a new member. Designated persons are required to identify whether their customers are Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs). All member application forms should therefore record whether or not the member is a PEP. A PEP is an individual entrusted with a prominent public function or a relative or known associate of that person. PEPs can be foreign or domestic PEPs. Where a person is a PEP, additional due diligence measures are required under the 2010 Act as amended (section 37.)

We suggest that in developing and implementing a system to identify and verify new customers, you develop and utilise an application form for completion by each new member of the PMC and associate identification and proof of address document with each application form. We also believe that in order to ensure compliance with the obligations under the 2010 Act as amended, it would be appropriate for you to have a sign-in register for all members and a system for recording each customer’s purchase of ‘chips’. Staff should be trained to monitor how customers utilise their ‘chips’. In cases where high levels of live gaming are taking place the PMC should have a ‘trigger mechanism’ in place to facilitate the tracking of customer spends. Staff are also required to receive instruction on compliance with the 2010 Act as amended.

There is an obligation under section 42 of the 2010 Act as amended to report any knowledge, suspicion or reasonable grounds for suspicion, on the basis of information obtained through business activities, that another person is engaging in money laundering or terrorist financing. Knowledge or suspicions are reported to FIU using GoAML and the Revenue Commissioners using ROS. Further information on suspicious transaction reports (STRs) can be found on our website here. When a PMC makes an STR, it is an offence to disclose anything about it to a third party or to tip off the customer. PMCs should ensure their staff are trained on risks and how to identify suspicious transactions and procedures for reporting them.

The AMLCU is the competent authority for inspections of PMCs at which gambling is carried on and its regulatory investigators will inspect businesses. All records must be available at the premises for inspection and staff must be available to answer questions, so that the regulatory investigators can determine whether the PMC has a suitable system in place to demonstrate compliance with the law.