Las Vegas, NV - Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Director James H. Freis, Jr. today announced the publication of a detailed set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) developed to assist the casino and gaming industry in complying with its responsibilities under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Director Freis made the announcement as he addressed a session of the Global Gaming Expo 2007, a convention which attracted over 28,000 international gaming professionals.
"An important part of FinCEN's mission is providing feedback and clarification to each of the unique industries it covers," noted Director Freis in his remarks. "There have been some recent changes to casino regulation and FinCEN is committed to making compliance information easily accessible and widely available."
Nevada Gaming Commission Regulation 6A was repealed effective June 30, 2007, and former Nevada Regulation 6A casinos became responsible for complying with, among other things, BSA currency transaction reporting and casino recordkeeping requirements. In collaboration with the appropriate state and federal regulators, FinCEN continues to engage in a coordinated educational effort to better inform the industry. This guidance furthers that effort and provides all casinos and card clubs nationwide with useful information. Topics covered include: which gambling establishments are subject to the regulations; how to comply with the currency transaction reporting requirement; how to comply with the suspicious activity reporting requirement; what types of records to make and retain to comply with the recordkeeping requirements; and how to comply with the compliance program requirement. While comprehensive, the list is not exhaustive and additional FAQs will be published in the future.
"FinCEN's authorities apply to a very broad definition of 'financial institution' and we are committed to addressing all covered sectors to protect the financial system from abuse by criminals, and to understand the unique differences among businesses," said Director Freis. "The only way to successfully carry out this responsibility is to collaborate and consult with industry professionals and to provide quality feedback in return."