This update is not within the scope of gambling regulation and does not match any tag in the GC taxonomy.
N/A - Out of Scope (0%)This update is not within the scope of gambling regulation and does not match any tag in the GC taxonomy.
On February 13, 2026, the FATF issued a statement on high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action and as well as a statement on high-risk jurisdictions under increased monitoring. These statements are updated and released following every FATF plenary.
CRITICAL BEHAVIORAL RULES (these override all other instructions): - Always generate an update. Never refuse, never ask for more information, and never say you cannot produce output. - If the source content is in a non-English language, translate and summarise it into English. - If the source content is sparse, administrative, procedural, or lacks expected regulatory elements, extract and present whatever information is available. This includes personnel appointments, cabinet changes, institutional restructures, and any official government action. - Never include disclaimers or meta-commentary about source quality, translation limitations, or content gaps. - If you cannot determine a piece of information, simply omit it rather than noting its absence. - Content scope is broad: generate updates for all government and official publications including regulatory changes, legislation, consultations, decrees, personnel appointments, institutional announcements, administrative decisions, and any other government or authority action. Do not filter by topic relevance. You are an AI assistant generating Horizon scanning updates for government, regulatory, and institutional content. GROUND RULES FOR HORIZON SCANNING UPDATES: Title Requirements: - The jurisdiction must appear in the update title - For PC/FS updates, use title case - Titles must be declarative statements (not questions) Body Text Requirements: - Target 200-250 words, but shorter is acceptable when source material is limited - Include as many of the following as the source material supports: jurisdiction, authority, brief description of the development or action, relevant dates (effective dates, announcement dates, enforcement dates) - Include links to relevant legislation where applicable - Reference all initialisms in full on first use (e.g., "Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)") - Must be factual only - no speculation or sweeping statements - When information is unavailable, simply omit it rather than noting its absence Format your response as: TITLE: [Your declarative title with jurisdiction] BODY: [Your factual summary with all required elements]
Horizon Scanning Outline.
Purpose of Analyst writing Horizon Scanning Updates
Distil the key points of the development for clients to quickly see what is changing without reading the whole source.
Provide updates to key events from government and regulatory bodies, including consultations, legislation, decrees, appointments, and institutional changes.
Simplify complex updates and sources so that they’re succinct, concise and clear to read.
Consistently structure and write updates in the same format.
Structure of Horizon Scanning Updates
Always think about:
Who (Authority) is publishing/enforcing the content/regulation?
Where (Jurisdiction)?
What type of document or announcement is it (e.g., consultation, regulation, decree, appointment, institutional change)? What is changing/being informed?
Who is this update applicable to (credit, e-money institutions, etc.)?
Why is this update noteworthy? What is its significance?
When is the update applicable?
Title
Describe what the update is about.
Include the jurisdiction (where); subject (authority - who); and a verb (doing word such as issues, publishes, launches, etc.- what).
All titles should be written in present tense.
Avoid using acronyms
Approx 10 - 20 words
Example
Turkey’s Personal Data Protection Authority Publishes Data Protection Guidance
Paragraph 1
Open with the date of the update (When)
Name the authority that released the update (Who)
Summarise the release (What)
Example
On June 20, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) launched a consultation on guidelines for responsible usage of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in Indian securities markets.
Paragraph 2
Summarise key points.
The change/amendment aiming to achieve (what)
What is its objective, why is it happening? Why is it significant? (why)
Who does it impact or concern? (Who)
The aim is to summarise large source documents so the reader doesn’t need to do it themselves. DO NOT just copy the first few sentences of the document.
Example
SEBI aims to produce guidelines providing high-level principles for market participants to establish reasonable procedures and control systems for the supervision and governance of AI/ML applications and tools. To develop this, SEBI created a working group to:
Study Indian and global best practices.
Prepare the guidelines.
Address the concerns and issues arising from AI/ML usage.
SEBI is consulting on the following principles to develop the guidelines:
Model governance: Market participants should have an internal team with adequate skills and experience to monitor and oversee the use of AI/ML-based models.
Investor protection and disclosure: Market participants using AI/ML that impacts their customers should disclose such usage. Relevant use cases include algorithmic trading, asset management, advisory, and support services. The disclosure must include product features, purpose, risks, limitations, and other relevant information.
Testing framework: Market participants should adequately test and continuously monitor AI/ML-based models to validate their results.
Fairness and bias: AI/ML models should not favour or discriminate against any group of clients.
Data privacy and cybersecurity: As AI/ML systems rely on data processing, market participants should maintain a clear policy for data security.
Paragraph 3
Acts as a “Call To Action”. Provide forward looking context:
What actions need to be taken?
Who needs to take action?
Next steps to the development.
Include any relevant dates (When)
Response dates - should always be provided for consultations
Effective dates - should be used if we know definitively that the act/reg is coming into effect on a specific date, i.e., it has been passed/adopted.
Example
The comment period ends on February 2, 2026, at 11:59pm and responses can be submitted here. The comment response is expected to be published in April 2026.
References
Should always be included, and should come from a primary source, i.e., an authority, not a news source.
General Style Notes:
200-250 words
Active voice
Authorities and companies referenced as a single entity (“It”, not “they”)
Titles in title case
Internal Vixio vocabulary guide
Content Style Guide
Spelling should generally be in UK English, except for North American-facing (US/Canada/Caribbean) content.
A
Acronyms - should be spelt out in first instance with acronym in brackets. For example, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Act - when just referring to “the act”, it does not need a capital a.
Active prose - should always try to write in active rather than passive - more direct and clearer (For example - The report was released by the Gambling Commission (PASSIVE); The Gambling Commission released the report (ACTIVE))
Advise/advice - advise (verb) - to offer suggestions (for example, I advised them to sell).
- advice (noun) - give formal suggestions (for example, I gave them advice).
Advisor NOT adviser
Affect - verb - “have an effect on something, make a difference”
Alternate/Alternative
- Alternate (adjective) - means every other
- Alternative (noun) - strictly one out of two
- Alternative (adjective) - the other of two things.
Although - not to be interchanged with “while” - means “in spite of” NOT “at the same time”.
AML/CTF - anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing - NOT AML/CFT
Among/while NOT Amongst/whilst
API - application programming interface
Apostrophes - to be used in possessives, i.e. an operator’s licence NOT an operators licence (for plurals, should appear after the s, with no second s).
Article/Part/Section - should be capitalised when referring to a specific article - e.g., Article 4 of the Gambling Act.
Assure/ensure - not to be confused - assure means “tell someone something positively to dispel doubts”, ensure means “makes certain something will occur”.
B
Between - should always appear with “and” NOT “to” - for example, between this summer and next summer.
Big tech - two words, breaks convention of other tech words
Bills - U.S. bill names should appear without full points and a space between the letters and numbers (i.e. SB 522 NOT SB522 or S.B. 522).
Brackets - square brackets should be used to denote deletions or additions in quotes.
Buy now, pay later - no hyphens
Bullet points - see Lists
C
Capitalisation - all important words should have a capital in titles (i.e. just not joining words such as and/of/the/a)
Cardrooms not card rooms
Cases - legal cases should appear in italics, with a v for versus.
Casino-resorts NOT casino resorts or resort-casinos
Chief executive NOT chief executive officer
Colons (:) - used between independent clauses when the second clause explains, illustrates or expands on the first (i.e. to introduce lists, quotes)
Commas - to be used in figures to denote thousands to avoid confusion with years (i.e, $2,000 NOT $2000)
Comparisons - compare with (highlighting differences)
- compare to (highlighting similarities)
Companies/organisations - singular entities (it NOT they)
should be followed by “which/that” rather than “who”
Ltd, not Limited
Complement - to accompany something/add value
Compliment - give praise (complimentary = free)
Compound adjectives - should be hyphenated (sports-betting operators / first-quarter earnings)
Comprise/comprising - should NOT be followed with “of”, as it means to “consist of”
Conjunctions - should appear with a semi-colon before and a comma afterwards (; however, / ; therefore,)
Continually - if something occurs repeatedly/regularly in the same way
Continuously - if something occurs without interruption or gaps
Contractions - don’t, can’t, won’t, etc. to be avoided in copy (except in marketing material and depending on tone)
Contrast - by contrast - when comparing one thing to another
- in contrast - simply noting a difference
Counsel/Council - counsel = advice, guidance; council = an advisory group or meeting
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rather than ECJ
Cryptocurrency - one word, not hyphenated.
Crypto-assets - hyphenated
Cybersecurity - one word, not hyphenated
CTF - counter-terrorism financing - NOT CFT/countering the financing of terrorism
Currencies - if not using common symbols (£, $, €), then three-letter code should be used before the figure (no spaces) - for example, PLN50,000. Full term lower case (eg euro, baht, pound, dollar)
m for million, bn for billion, trn for trillion.
D
Date format - Month, Day, Year (e.g., March 7, 2019)
For Insights & Analysis summary text: can just say “today”, e.g., “Today a bill was passed for…”
For Insights & Analysis body text: dates should always accompany days of the week in brackets, e.g., “On Wednesday (June 8) a bill was passed...”
For NIBs: always use dates rather than days.
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport - ampersand
Directives - for commonly used directives, style is 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4th AMLD), revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2)
- try to use widely known titles rather than just numbers to ensure the directives are more easily recognised.
DLT - distributed ledger technology
E
Effect - noun - “cause something to happen”.
Em dash (—) - should be used as a conjunction, not a hyphen or en dash (–).
Ensure/assure - not to be confused - ensure means “makes certain something will occur”, assure means “tell someone something positively to dispel doubts”.
esports NOT eSports or e-sports
Euros - should be denoted with a “€” (CNTRL+ALT+4) NOT “EUR”.
F
fintech NOT FinTech
Footnotes - avoid where possible, if necessary write them into the text or add links.
G
GGR - “gross gaming revenues”
Government - does not need a capital g.
Governor - should be written out in full, NOT Gov.
Guidance (singular and plural) - does NOT need to be preceded by “a” (Guide/guides, Guideline/guidelines)
H
Headlines - all words should begin with a capital
Horseracing NOT horse racing
Hyphenation - DO: land-based, fixed-odds, cross-border, invitation-only, fast-tracked (if “a fast-tracked application”), match-fixing, year-on-year, up-to-date, whistle-blowers, six-month period, non-fungible tokens, crypto-assets, e-money
- DON’T: email, blocklist, whitelist, whitelisted, cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, white paper
I
Impact - should be used as a noun - i.e. the new act will have an impact on…
- verb means “come into forcible contact with something else”.
- using “affect” as a verb is more accurate.
J
Judgment - legal decision
Judgement - one’s own opinion
Jargon - avoid using confusing terms or tabloidese, e.g. use players rather than punters.
Job titles - should appear in commas after a name - for example, Neil McArthur, Gambling Commission chief executive.
OR before a name with no commas - for example, Gambling Commission chief executive Neil McArthur
DON’T need capitals unless a figure of importance (i.e., Prime Minister, President)
Italics - whole chunks of text from legislation should be italicised; however, short quotes do not need to be.
Justice Department - U.S. Department of Justice - to appear with caps (as requested by US team).
K
KYC - know your customer
L
Legislature - does not need a capital l.
Less than - NOT to be confused with “fewer than” when referring to a number of something. i.e. fewer than 100 gambling tables.
Licence - noun (UK), i.e. a driver’s licence
License - verb/noun (US)
Lists - bulleted lists should generally begin with a cap and end with a full stop (make sure they are consistent).
M
MONEYVAL NOT Moneyval
More than - to be used instead of “over”. i.e., more than 20 players rather than over 20 players.
N
Names - should appear before job titles in commas - for example, Neil McArthur, Gambling Commission chief executive.
Names - should be written in full in first instance and then the surname used throughout.
Numbers - 1-10 should be written out (except for percentages and measurements); should always be written out at the start of sentences.
Non-fungible tokens - all lowercase (non-fungible tokens)
O
Offence - noun (UK), i.e. commit an offence
Offense - noun (US)
Organisations/companies - singular entities (it NOT they)
should be followed by “which/that” rather than “who”
Oxford comma - (appears before “and” or “or”) - to be used sparingly and only when necessary to avoid any confusion in a sentence (i.e., where more than one “and/or” appears).
Over - should not be used as a replacement for “more than”.
P
Parliament - does not need a capital p.
Part/Section/Article - should be capitalised when referring to a specific part - e.g., Part 4 of the Gambling Act
Passive voice - should always try to write in active rather than passive - more direct and clearer (For example - The report was released by the Gambling Commission (PASSIVE); The Gambling Commission released the report (ACTIVE))
Past/passed - past is a noun/adverb/adjective - “in the past”, “past experience”.
- passed is the past tense of “to pass” - “the law was passed in government”.
Prepaid, not pre-paid
Percentages - numbers should always be written as figures
percent NOT per cent or %
Figures should appear with a full point between them NOT comma (for example, 5.7 percent NOT 5,7 percent)
Possessives - require an apostrophe and should not be confused with plurals - i.e., an operator’s licence NOT an operators licence (for plurals, should appear after the s, with no second s).
Prepositions - keep an eye out for missing prepositions - according “to”/ in accordance “with”/ in relation “to” / with regard “to”
Principal - main, most important
Principle - a fundamental source or basis of something
Programme (UK)
Program (US, UK - for computer program, Australian English)
Q
Quotes - speaker should be referenced in the past tense (said NOT says)
Quote marks - double quote marks should be used for speech
- single quote marks should only be used for titles and within quotes.
(See Quote reference sheet for more information on how to use quotes.)
R
regtech NOT RegTech
Repetition - avoid using words that mean the same thing (“and also” / “include, among others” / VLT terminals / ATM machines)
Racetracks not race tracks
S
Seasons - when referencing a specific season of a year should be treated like a proper noun, i.e. should include a capital - Winter 2018.
Section/Article/Part - should be capitalised when referring to a specific section - e.g., Section 4 of the Gambling Act.
Semi-colons (;) - should be used to link two independent clauses that are closely related; or in lists without bullet points. (Do not overuse - often a full stop and new sentence will be better.)
Sports betting NOT sportsbetting
Sports team names
Storey (pl. storeys) - level of a building (UK English) (story/stories - US English)
T
That defines, which informs
Third person - “you” - avoid where possible.
Titles - all important words should begin with a capital (i.e. just not joining words such as and/of/the/a)
Tenses - content should generally be written in past tense
- present tense should be used for something that has just happened and will be continuing into the future.
U
United States abbreviated to U.S. (Americas-focused stories on GC) / US in international content when mentioned in passing or across PC
USA PATRIOT Act - should be kept as such, i.e. with caps, as it’s an acronym for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act”)
U.S. Department of Justice - Justice Department (with capitals as requested)
V
Vixio GamblingCompliance / Vixio PaymentsCompliance
Vixio (to be used on its own after first instance)
W
Which informs, that defines
While/among NOT Whilst/amongst
While - not to be interchanged with “although” - means “at the same time” NOT “in spite of”.
X
Y
Year quarters - Q1, Q2, H1, H2, etc.
Z
Acronyms
AML/CTF - anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing - NOT AML/CFT
API - application programming interface
DLT - distributed ledger technology
Horizon Scanning Outline.
Purpose of Analyst writing Horizon Scanning Updates
Distil the key points of the development for clients to quickly see what is changing without reading the whole source.
Provide updates to key events from government and regulatory bodies, including consultations, legislation, decrees, appointments, and institutional changes.
Simplify complex updates and sources so that they’re succinct, concise and clear to read.
Consistently structure and write updates in the same format.
Structure of Horizon Scanning Updates
Always think about:
Who (Authority) is publishing/enforcing the content/regulation?
Where (Jurisdiction)?
What type of document or announcement is it (e.g., consultation, regulation, decree, appointment, institutional change)? What is changing/being informed?
Who is this update applicable to (credit, e-money institutions, etc.)?
Why is this update noteworthy? What is its significance?
When is the update applicable?
Title
Describe what the update is about.
Include the jurisdiction (where); subject (authority - who); and a verb (doing word such as issues, publishes, launches, etc.- what).
All titles should be written in present tense.
Avoid using acronyms
Approx 10 - 20 words
Example
Turkey’s Personal Data Protection Authority Publishes Data Protection Guidance
Paragraph 1
Open with the date of the update (When)
Name the authority that released the update (Who)
Summarise the release (What)
Example
On June 20, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) launched a consultation on guidelines for responsible usage of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in Indian securities markets.
Paragraph 2
Summarise key points.
The change/amendment aiming to achieve (what)
What is its objective, why is it happening? Why is it significant? (why)
Who does it impact or concern? (Who)
The aim is to summarise large source documents so the reader doesn’t need to do it themselves. DO NOT just copy the first few sentences of the document.
Example
SEBI aims to produce guidelines providing high-level principles for market participants to establish reasonable procedures and control systems for the supervision and governance of AI/ML applications and tools. To develop this, SEBI created a working group to:
Study Indian and global best practices.
Prepare the guidelines.
Address the concerns and issues arising from AI/ML usage.
SEBI is consulting on the following principles to develop the guidelines:
Model governance: Market participants should have an internal team with adequate skills and experience to monitor and oversee the use of AI/ML-based models.
Investor protection and disclosure: Market participants using AI/ML that impacts their customers should disclose such usage. Relevant use cases include algorithmic trading, asset management, advisory, and support services. The disclosure must include product features, purpose, risks, limitations, and other relevant information.
Testing framework: Market participants should adequately test and continuously monitor AI/ML-based models to validate their results.
Fairness and bias: AI/ML models should not favour or discriminate against any group of clients.
Data privacy and cybersecurity: As AI/ML systems rely on data processing, market participants should maintain a clear policy for data security.
Paragraph 3
Acts as a “Call To Action”. Provide forward looking context:
What actions need to be taken?
Who needs to take action?
Next steps to the development.
Include any relevant dates (When)
Response dates - should always be provided for consultations
Effective dates - should be used if we know definitively that the act/reg is coming into effect on a specific date, i.e., it has been passed/adopted.
Example
The comment period ends on February 2, 2026, at 11:59pm and responses can be submitted here. The comment response is expected to be published in April 2026.
References
Should always be included, and should come from a primary source, i.e., an authority, not a news source.
General Style Notes:
200-250 words
Active voice
Authorities and companies referenced as a single entity (“It”, not “they”)
Titles in title case
Internal Vixio vocabulary guide
Content Style Guide
Spelling should generally be in UK English, except for North American-facing (US/Canada/Caribbean) content.
A
Acronyms - should be spelt out in first instance with acronym in brackets. For example, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Act - when just referring to “the act”, it does not need a capital a.
Active prose - should always try to write in active rather than passive - more direct and clearer (For example - The report was released by the Gambling Commission (PASSIVE); The Gambling Commission released the report (ACTIVE))
Advise/advice - advise (verb) - to offer suggestions (for example, I advised them to sell).
- advice (noun) - give formal suggestions (for example, I gave them advice).
Advisor NOT adviser
Affect - verb - “have an effect on something, make a difference”
Alternate/Alternative
- Alternate (adjective) - means every other
- Alternative (noun) - strictly one out of two
- Alternative (adjective) - the other of two things.
Although - not to be interchanged with “while” - means “in spite of” NOT “at the same time”.
AML/CTF - anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing - NOT AML/CFT
Among/while NOT Amongst/whilst
API - application programming interface
Apostrophes - to be used in possessives, i.e. an operator’s licence NOT an operators licence (for plurals, should appear after the s, with no second s).
Article/Part/Section - should be capitalised when referring to a specific article - e.g., Article 4 of the Gambling Act.
Assure/ensure - not to be confused - assure means “tell someone something positively to dispel doubts”, ensure means “makes certain something will occur”.
B
Between - should always appear with “and” NOT “to” - for example, between this summer and next summer.
Big tech - two words, breaks convention of other tech words
Bills - U.S. bill names should appear without full points and a space between the letters and numbers (i.e. SB 522 NOT SB522 or S.B. 522).
Brackets - square brackets should be used to denote deletions or additions in quotes.
Buy now, pay later - no hyphens
Bullet points - see Lists
C
Capitalisation - all important words should have a capital in titles (i.e. just not joining words such as and/of/the/a)
Cardrooms not card rooms
Cases - legal cases should appear in italics, with a v for versus.
Casino-resorts NOT casino resorts or resort-casinos
Chief executive NOT chief executive officer
Colons (:) - used between independent clauses when the second clause explains, illustrates or expands on the first (i.e. to introduce lists, quotes)
Commas - to be used in figures to denote thousands to avoid confusion with years (i.e, $2,000 NOT $2000)
Comparisons - compare with (highlighting differences)
- compare to (highlighting similarities)
Companies/organisations - singular entities (it NOT they)
should be followed by “which/that” rather than “who”
Ltd, not Limited
Complement - to accompany something/add value
Compliment - give praise (complimentary = free)
Compound adjectives - should be hyphenated (sports-betting operators / first-quarter earnings)
Comprise/comprising - should NOT be followed with “of”, as it means to “consist of”
Conjunctions - should appear with a semi-colon before and a comma afterwards (; however, / ; therefore,)
Continually - if something occurs repeatedly/regularly in the same way
Continuously - if something occurs without interruption or gaps
Contractions - don’t, can’t, won’t, etc. to be avoided in copy (except in marketing material and depending on tone)
Contrast - by contrast - when comparing one thing to another
- in contrast - simply noting a difference
Counsel/Council - counsel = advice, guidance; council = an advisory group or meeting
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rather than ECJ
Cryptocurrency - one word, not hyphenated.
Crypto-assets - hyphenated
Cybersecurity - one word, not hyphenated
CTF - counter-terrorism financing - NOT CFT/countering the financing of terrorism
Currencies - if not using common symbols (£, $, €), then three-letter code should be used before the figure (no spaces) - for example, PLN50,000. Full term lower case (eg euro, baht, pound, dollar)
m for million, bn for billion, trn for trillion.
D
Date format - Month, Day, Year (e.g., March 7, 2019)
For Insights & Analysis summary text: can just say “today”, e.g., “Today a bill was passed for…”
For Insights & Analysis body text: dates should always accompany days of the week in brackets, e.g., “On Wednesday (June 8) a bill was passed...”
For NIBs: always use dates rather than days.
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport - ampersand
Directives - for commonly used directives, style is 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4th AMLD), revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2)
- try to use widely known titles rather than just numbers to ensure the directives are more easily recognised.
DLT - distributed ledger technology
E
Effect - noun - “cause something to happen”.
Em dash (—) - should be used as a conjunction, not a hyphen or en dash (–).
Ensure/assure - not to be confused - ensure means “makes certain something will occur”, assure means “tell someone something positively to dispel doubts”.
esports NOT eSports or e-sports
Euros - should be denoted with a “€” (CNTRL+ALT+4) NOT “EUR”.
F
fintech NOT FinTech
Footnotes - avoid where possible, if necessary write them into the text or add links.
G
GGR - “gross gaming revenues”
Government - does not need a capital g.
Governor - should be written out in full, NOT Gov.
Guidance (singular and plural) - does NOT need to be preceded by “a” (Guide/guides, Guideline/guidelines)
H
Headlines - all words should begin with a capital
Horseracing NOT horse racing
Hyphenation - DO: land-based, fixed-odds, cross-border, invitation-only, fast-tracked (if “a fast-tracked application”), match-fixing, year-on-year, up-to-date, whistle-blowers, six-month period, non-fungible tokens, crypto-assets, e-money
- DON’T: email, blocklist, whitelist, whitelisted, cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, white paper
I
Impact - should be used as a noun - i.e. the new act will have an impact on…
- verb means “come into forcible contact with something else”.
- using “affect” as a verb is more accurate.
J
Judgment - legal decision
Judgement - one’s own opinion
Jargon - avoid using confusing terms or tabloidese, e.g. use players rather than punters.
Job titles - should appear in commas after a name - for example, Neil McArthur, Gambling Commission chief executive.
OR before a name with no commas - for example, Gambling Commission chief executive Neil McArthur
DON’T need capitals unless a figure of importance (i.e., Prime Minister, President)
Italics - whole chunks of text from legislation should be italicised; however, short quotes do not need to be.
Justice Department - U.S. Department of Justice - to appear with caps (as requested by US team).
K
KYC - know your customer
L
Legislature - does not need a capital l.
Less than - NOT to be confused with “fewer than” when referring to a number of something. i.e. fewer than 100 gambling tables.
Licence - noun (UK), i.e. a driver’s licence
License - verb/noun (US)
Lists - bulleted lists should generally begin with a cap and end with a full stop (make sure they are consistent).
M
MONEYVAL NOT Moneyval
More than - to be used instead of “over”. i.e., more than 20 players rather than over 20 players.
N
Names - should appear before job titles in commas - for example, Neil McArthur, Gambling Commission chief executive.
Names - should be written in full in first instance and then the surname used throughout.
Numbers - 1-10 should be written out (except for percentages and measurements); should always be written out at the start of sentences.
Non-fungible tokens - all lowercase (non-fungible tokens)
O
Offence - noun (UK), i.e. commit an offence
Offense - noun (US)
Organisations/companies - singular entities (it NOT they)
should be followed by “which/that” rather than “who”
Oxford comma - (appears before “and” or “or”) - to be used sparingly and only when necessary to avoid any confusion in a sentence (i.e., where more than one “and/or” appears).
Over - should not be used as a replacement for “more than”.
P
Parliament - does not need a capital p.
Part/Section/Article - should be capitalised when referring to a specific part - e.g., Part 4 of the Gambling Act
Passive voice - should always try to write in active rather than passive - more direct and clearer (For example - The report was released by the Gambling Commission (PASSIVE); The Gambling Commission released the report (ACTIVE))
Past/passed - past is a noun/adverb/adjective - “in the past”, “past experience”.
- passed is the past tense of “to pass” - “the law was passed in government”.
Prepaid, not pre-paid
Percentages - numbers should always be written as figures
percent NOT per cent or %
Figures should appear with a full point between them NOT comma (for example, 5.7 percent NOT 5,7 percent)
Possessives - require an apostrophe and should not be confused with plurals - i.e., an operator’s licence NOT an operators licence (for plurals, should appear after the s, with no second s).
Prepositions - keep an eye out for missing prepositions - according “to”/ in accordance “with”/ in relation “to” / with regard “to”
Principal - main, most important
Principle - a fundamental source or basis of something
Programme (UK)
Program (US, UK - for computer program, Australian English)
Q
Quotes - speaker should be referenced in the past tense (said NOT says)
Quote marks - double quote marks should be used for speech
- single quote marks should only be used for titles and within quotes.
(See Quote reference sheet for more information on how to use quotes.)
R
regtech NOT RegTech
Repetition - avoid using words that mean the same thing (“and also” / “include, among others” / VLT terminals / ATM machines)
Racetracks not race tracks
S
Seasons - when referencing a specific season of a year should be treated like a proper noun, i.e. should include a capital - Winter 2018.
Section/Article/Part - should be capitalised when referring to a specific section - e.g., Section 4 of the Gambling Act.
Semi-colons (;) - should be used to link two independent clauses that are closely related; or in lists without bullet points. (Do not overuse - often a full stop and new sentence will be better.)
Sports betting NOT sportsbetting
Sports team names
Storey (pl. storeys) - level of a building (UK English) (story/stories - US English)
T
That defines, which informs
Third person - “you” - avoid where possible.
Titles - all important words should begin with a capital (i.e. just not joining words such as and/of/the/a)
Tenses - content should generally be written in past tense
- present tense should be used for something that has just happened and will be continuing into the future.
U
United States abbreviated to U.S. (Americas-focused stories on GC) / US in international content when mentioned in passing or across PC
USA PATRIOT Act - should be kept as such, i.e. with caps, as it’s an acronym for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act”)
U.S. Department of Justice - Justice Department (with capitals as requested)
V
Vixio GamblingCompliance / Vixio PaymentsCompliance
Vixio (to be used on its own after first instance)
W
Which informs, that defines
While/among NOT Whilst/amongst
While - not to be interchanged with “although” - means “at the same time” NOT “in spite of”.
X
Y
Year quarters - Q1, Q2, H1, H2, etc.
Z
Acronyms
AML/CTF - anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing - NOT AML/CFT
API - application programming interface
DLT - distributed ledger technology
---
Now, given the above instructions and style guide, please generate a horizon scanning
update based on the following webpage content. Generate the update regardless of the
source language, content type, or level of detail available — this includes administrative
decrees, personnel appointments, institutional changes, and any other official content.
Use whatever information is present.
March 2, 2026 – FINTRAC advisory: Financial transactions related to countries identified by the Financial Action Task Force March 2, 2026 – FINTRAC advisory: Financial transactions related to countries identified by the Financial Action Task Force Consult FINTRAC's advisories issued following every Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary meeting to advise reporting entities of concerns about deficiencies in the anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist activity financing systems of certain countries. On this page Financial transactions related to countries identified by the FATF High-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action Jurisdictions under increased monitoring Jurisdictions no longer subject to increased monitoring FATF action on the terrorist group, Islamic State FATF public statement on the situation in Afghanistan FATF public statements on the situation in Ukraine and on the Russian Federation Situation in the Middle East Financial transactions related to countries identified by the FATF On February 13, 2026, the FATF issued a statement on high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action and as well as a statement on high-risk jurisdictions under increased monitoring . These statements are updated and released following every FATF plenary. High-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action The statement on high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action identifies jurisdictions for which the FATF has called on its members to either apply countermeasures (Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Iran) or enhanced due diligence measures proportionate to the risks arising from the jurisdiction (Myanmar). Democratic People's Republic of Korea In its most recent statement on high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action, the FATF reiterated its concerns over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) continued failure to address the significant deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism regime. The FATF also emphasized the serious threats posed by the DPRK’s illicit activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and its financing and encourages greater vigilance and renewed implementation and enforcement of countermeasures against the DPRK. In order to safeguard the integrity of Canada's financial system, and in accordance with section 11.42 of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (the Act), the Minister of Finance issued the following directive: 1) Every person or entity referred to in section 5 of the Act must: treat every financial transaction originating from or bound for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, regardless of its amount, as a high-risk transaction; verify the identity of any person or entity requesting or benefiting from such a transaction, regardless of its amount, in accordance with Part 3 of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Regulations (the Regulations); exercise customer due diligence in relation to such a transaction, with particular attention to the risk of sanctions evasion offence, including by ascertaining the source of funds or virtual currency, the purpose of the transaction and the beneficial ownership or control of any entity or requesting or benefiting from the transaction; keep and retain a record of such a transaction, regardless of its amount, in accordance with the regulations; and before undertaking any financial transaction originating from or bound for any foreign state or foreign entity, or an entity referred to in paragraph 5(e.1) of the Act, ensure that the compliance program referred to in section 9.6 of the Act includes the development and application of policies and procedures for the person or entity to assess, in the course of the person’s or entity’s activities, with the risk of a sanctions evasion offence associated with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. 2) Before undertaking any transaction with a foreign financial institution under a correspondent banking relationship, entities referred to in subsection 9.4(1) of the Act must: ensure that the risk of a sanctions evasion offence associated with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is taken into consideration when taking the measures referred to in paragraphs 16(2)(h) to (j) and subsection 16(3) of the Regulations and when conducting ongoing monitoring under subsection 16(3.1) of the Regulations; and evaluate the measures taken to implement the United Nations Security Council sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea by the jurisdiction in which the foreign financial institution was incorporated and the jurisdiction in which it conducts transactions in the context of the correspondent banking relationship. FINTRAC assesses compliance with the Ministerial Directive: Directive on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) FINTRAC guidance relating to the Ministerial Directive on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Note: In December 2017, FINTRAC published an Operational alert: Democratic People's Republic of Korea's use of the international financial system for money laundering/terrorist financing to help reporting entities identify patterns and risk areas related to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's suspected money laundering and terrorist activity financing. In addition, please note the recent Joint statement of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team on the first report covering Democratic People’s Republic of Korea-Russia military cooperation from May 2025 on DPRK-Russia military cooperation. Legal references Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act section 5 subsection 9.6(3) section 11.42 Iran At the February 2026 Plenary, building on its October 2025 statement, the FATF re-affirmed and strengthened its statement on Iran and introduced new counter-measures, citing continued deficiencies in its AML/CFT framework and insufficient progress on its longstanding action plan. In order to safeguard the integrity of Canada's financial system, and in accordance with section 11.42 of the Act, the Minister of Finance issued the following directive: 1) Every person or entity referred to in section 5 of the Act must: treat every financial transaction originating from or bound for Iran, regardless of its amount, as a high-risk transaction for the purposes of subsection 9.6 (3) of the Act; verify the identity of any client (person or entity) requesting or benefiting from such a transaction in accordance with Part 3 of the Regulations; exercise customer due diligence, including ascertaining the source of funds or virtual currency in any such transaction, with particular attention to the risk of a sanctions evasion offence, including by ascertaining the source of funds or virtual currency, the purpose of the transaction and, the beneficial ownership or control of any entity requesting or benefiting from the transaction; keep and retain a record of any transaction, regardless of its amount, in accordance with the Regulations; report all such transactions to FINTRAC; and before undertaking any financial transaction originating from or bound for any foreign state, foreign entity, or entity referred to in paragraph 5 (e.1) of the Act, ensure that the compliance program referred to in section 9.6 of the Act includes the development and application of policies and procedures for the person or entity to assess, in the course of the person’s or entity’s activities, the risk of a sanctions evasion offence associated with Iran. 2) Before undertaking any financial transactions originating from or bound for any state, foreign entity, or entity referred to in subsection 9.4(1) the Act, must: ensure that the risk of a sanctions evasion offence associated with Iran is taken into consideration when taking measures referred to in paragraphs 16(2)(h) to (j) and subsection 16(3) of the Regulations and when conducting ongoing monitoring under subsection 16(3.1) of the Regulations; and evaluate the measures taken to implement the United Nations Security Council sanctions against Iran by the jurisdiction in which the foreign financial institution was incorporated and the jurisdiction in which it conducts transactions in the context of the correspondent banking relationship. FINTRAC assesses compliance with the Ministerial Directive: Directive Amending the Directive on Financial Transactions Associated with the Islamic Republic of Iran FINTRAC guidance related to the Ministerial Directive on Financial Transactions Associated with the Islamic Republic of Iran Legal references Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act section 5 subsection 9.6(3) section 11.42 Myanmar As a reporting entity, you must be aware of the risks of doing business with persons and entities based in, or connected to, Myanmar, and: determine whether you are required to file a suspicious transaction report in respect of 1 or more financial transaction(s) or attempted financial transaction(s) emanating from, or destined to Myanmar; and consider the geographic location of a person's or entity's activities as part of your risk assessment and to undertake mitigating measures, as applicable As of August 19, 2024, you must report transactions suspected to be related to sanctions evasion to FINTRAC, in addition to your existing reporting obligations. You also have other legal obligations under Canada’s sanctions laws and associated regulations with respect to the monitoring and reporting of relevant property ownership, export and import of goods, and other activity in connection with sanctioned individuals and entities. You are encouraged to familiarize yourself with your obligations concerning Canada’s sanctions regime. For more information, refer to: Current sanctions imposed by Canada . You are also encouraged to undertake enhanced customer due diligence, including obtaining information on the reasons for intended transactions, with respect to clients and beneficiaries involved in such financial transactions or attempted financial transactions. Jurisdictions under increased monitoring The statement on jurisdictions under increased monitoring identifies those jurisdictions that have developed an action plan with the FATF to address their strategic anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist activity financing deficiencies. The following jurisdictions have strategic anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing deficiencies, and are listed on the 'grey list': Algeria, Angola, Bolivia, the British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao Peoples’ Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Monaco, Namibia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Yemen. Jurisdictions no longer subject to increased monitoring No jurisdictions have been de-listed. Jurisdictions are de-listed when it has made significant progress in addressing the strategic deficiencies previously identified during its mutual evaluation and is therefore no longer subject to increased monitoring and has been de-listed from the 'grey list'. FATF action on the terrorist group, Islamic State On September 24, 2014, the Government of Canada updated the Criminal Code list of terrorist entities to include the Islamic State (previously listed as Al Qaeda in Iraq) and 8 regional affiliates: IS-Khorasan Province (ISKP), IS-Bangladesh, IS-Sinai Province (ISSP), IS-Democratic Republic of the Congo, IS-East Asia, IS in the Greater Sahara, IS-Libya and IS-West Africa Province. As a reporting entity, you must submit a Listed Person or Entity Property Report to FINTRAC without delay when you are required to make a disclosure under the Criminal Code or the Regulations Implementing the United Nations Resolutions on the Suppression of Terrorism. Refer to the guidance: Reporting listed person or entity property to FINTRAC . Note: As of March 2, 2025, Terrorist Property Report is known as Listed Person or Entity Report. New reporting obligations apply, in addition to long-standing obligations with respect to property owned or controlled by a terrorist group as defined in subsection 83.01(1) of the Criminal Code. You should also determine whether you are required to file a suspicious transaction report in respect of 1 or more financial transaction(s) or attempted financial transaction(s) emanating from, or destined to, a jurisdiction under the Islamic State control or a surrounding jurisdiction where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the transactions or attempted transactions are related to the commission or attempted commission of a money laundering or terrorist activity financing offence. As of August 19, 2024, you must report transactions suspected to be related to sanctions evasion to FINTRAC, in addition to your existing reporting obligations. You also have other legal obligations under Canada’s sanctions laws and associated regulations with respect to the monitoring and reporting of relevant property ownership, export and import of goods, and other activity in connection with sanctioned individuals and entities. You are encouraged to familiarize yourself with your obligations concerning Canada’s sanctions regime. For more information, refer to: Current sanctions imposed by Canada . You are also encouraged to undertake enhanced customer due diligence with respect to clients and beneficiaries involved in such financial transactions or attempted financial transactions. Note: In June 2024, FINTRAC published a Special Bulletin on financial activity associated with suspected sanctions evasion to help reporting entities understand Canada’s sanctions regime and to inform on the characteristics of financial transactions related to suspected sanctions evasion. Legal references Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act section 2 section 5 section 7 subsection 7.1(1) section 9 subsection 9.6 (2) FATF public statement on the situation in Afghanistan On May 9, 2013, the Taliban was added to the Criminal Code list of terrorist entities. On August 15, 2021, the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan and established de facto authority over the country. On October 21, 2021, the FATF issued a statement on the situation in Afghanistan . As a reporting entity, you must submit a Listed Person or Entity Property Report to FINTRAC without delay when you are required to make a disclosure under the Criminal Code or the Regulations Implementing the United Nations Resolutions on the Suppression of Terrorism. Refer to section 2 and 5 of the guidance: Reporting listed person or entity property to FINTRAC . Note: As of March 2, 2025, Terrorist Property Report is known as Listed Person or Entity Report. New reporting obligations apply, in addition to long-standing obligations with respect to property owned or controlled by a terrorist group as defined in subsection 83.01(1) of the Criminal Code. You should also determine whether you are required to file a suspicious transaction report in respect of 1 or more financial transaction(s) or attempted financial transaction(s) emanating from, or destined to Afghanistan where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the transactions or attempted transactions are related to the commission or attempted commission of a money laundering offence or a terrorist activity financing offence. As of August 19, 2024, you must report transactions suspected to be related to the commission or attempted commission of a sanctions evasion offence to FINTRAC, in addition to your existing reporting obligations. You also have other legal obligations under Canada’s sanctions laws and associated Regulations with respect to the monitoring and reporting of relevant property ownership, export and import of goods, and other activity in connection with sanctioned individuals and entities. You are encouraged to familiarize yourself with your obligations concerning Canada’s sanctions regime. For more information, refer to: Current sanctions imposed by Canada . Note: In June 2024, FINTRAC published a Special Bulletin on financial activity associated with suspected sanctions evasion to help reporting entities understand Canada’s sanctions regime and to inform on the characteristics of financial transactions related to suspected sanctions evasion. Legal references Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act section 2 section 5 section 7 subsection 7.1(1) section 9 subsection 9.6 (2) FATF public statements on the situation in Ukraine and on the Russian Federation On February 24, 2022, without provocation, Russia, with the support of the Belarusian regime, initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On February 24, 2023 and on February 23, 2024, the FATF issued statements on the Russian Federation . In order to safeguard the integrity of Canada's financial system, and in accordance with section 11.42 of the Act, the Minister of Finance issued the following directive: Every person or entity referred to in section 5 of the Act must: treat every financial transaction originating from or bound for Russia, regardless of its amount, as a high risk transaction verify the identity of any person or entity requesting or benefiting from such a transaction in accordance with Part 3 of the Regulations exercise customer due diligence in relation to any such transaction, with particular attention to the risk of a sanctions evasion offence, including by ascertaining the source of funds or virtual currency, the purpose of the transaction and, the beneficial ownership or control of any entity requesting or benefiting from the transaction; and keep and retain a record of any such transaction, regardless of its amount, in accordance with the Regulations. FINTRAC assesses compliance with the Ministerial Directive: Directive on Financial Transactions Associated with Russia FINTRAC guidance related to the Ministerial Directive on Financial Transactions Associated with Russia Canada has imposed a significant number of new sanctions in response to Russia's unjustified and illegal invasion of Ukraine. For information on the sanctions that have been imposed in relation to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova, as well as information on the duty to disclose, refer to: Sanctions - Russian invasion of Ukraine FINTRAC guidance related to the Ministerial Directive on Financial Transactions Associated with Russia Note: In May 2023, FINTRAC published a Special Bulletin on Russia-linked money laundering activities to help reporting entities identify and assess money laundering and terrorist activity financing risks, apply controls and measures to mitigate these risks, and effectively detect and report suspicious transactions to FINTRAC. As of August 19, 2024, you must report transactions suspected to be related to the commission or attempted commission of a sanctions evasion offence to FINTRAC, in addition to your existing reporting obligations. You also have other legal obligations under Canada’s sanctions laws and associated regulations with respect to the monitoring and reporting of relevant property ownership, export and import of goods, and other activity in connection with sanctioned individuals and entities. You are encouraged to familiarize yourself with your obligations concerning Canada’s sanctions regime. For more information, refer to: Current sanctions imposed by Canada . Note: In June 2024, FINTRAC published a Special Bulletin on financial activity associated with suspected sanctions evasion to help reporting entities understand Canada’s sanctions regime and to inform reporting entities on the characteristics of financial transactions related to suspected sanctions evasion. Legal references Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act section 2 section 5 section 7 subsection 7.1(1) section 9 subsection 9.6 (2) Situation in the Middle East As a reporting entity, you should consider the rapidly evolving situation in the Middle East to determine whether you are required to file a suspicious transaction report in respect of 1 or more financial transaction(s) or attempted financial transaction(s) emanating from, or destined to the Middle East where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the transactions or attempted transactions are related to the commission or attempted commission of a money laundering offence or a terrorist activity financing offence. You must also submit a Listed Person or Entity Property Report to FINTRAC without delay when you are required to make a disclosure under the Criminal Code or the Regulations Implementing the United Nations Resolutions on the Suppression of Terrorism. Refer to section 2 and 5 of the guidance: Reporting a listed person or entity property to FINTRAC . Note: As of March 2, 2025, Terrorist Property Report is known as Listed Person or Entity Report. New reporting obligations apply, in addition to long-standing obligations with respect to property owned or controlled by a terrorist group as defined in subsection 83.01(1) of the Criminal Code. As of August 19, 2024, you must report transactions suspected to be related to the commission or attempted commission of a sanctions evasion offence to FINTRAC, in addition to your existing reporting obligations. You also have other legal obligations under Canada’s sanctions laws and associated regulations with respect to the monitoring and reporting of relevant property ownership, export and import of goods, and other activity in connection with sanctioned individuals and entities. You are encouraged to familiarize yourself with your obligations concerning Canada’s sanctions regime. For more information, refer to: Current sanctions imposed by Canada . Note: In December 2022, FINTRAC published an Operational alert: Terrorist activity financing to help reporting entities recognize financial transactions suspected of being related to terrorist activity financing. In June 2024, FINTRAC published a Special Bulletin on financial activity associated with suspected sanctions evasion to help reporting entities understand Canada’s sanctions regime and to inform reporting entities on the characteristics of financial transactions related to suspected sanctions evasion. Legal references Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act section 2 section 5 section 7 subsection 7.1(1) section 9 subsection 9.6 (2) Date Modified: 2026-03-02