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Anti-Money Laundering Guidelines

What Is the AML Policy

TeleBet's Anti-Money Laundering Policy establishes the framework under which the operator identifies, assesses, monitors and reports activity that may constitute money laundering or the financing of terrorism. The policy applies to all accounts registered on the platform and is maintained in accordance with the obligations imposed by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia National Lottery Administration licence number ስ/ው/ብሎ/29/2016 and applicable law.

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that the platform cannot be used — whether knowingly or unknowingly — as a vehicle through which the proceeds of criminal activity are placed, layered or integrated into the legitimate financial system. Compliance with this policy is mandatory for all players; accounts that cannot be verified or that demonstrate indicators of financial crime are subject to restriction or termination without prior notice.

Structure of the AML Guidelines

The AML framework at TeleBet is organised into five core sections, each addressing a distinct area of compliance obligation. These sections form the operational spine of the policy and are applied continuously across all account activity.

  1. Customer Identification and Verification — establishing and confirming the identity of every account holder before any withdrawal is processed, and at any point the operator deems necessary.
  2. Risk Assessment — evaluating the money-laundering and terrorist-financing risk profile of individual accounts based on transaction patterns, geographic factors and account behaviour.
  3. Transaction Monitoring — ongoing automated and manual review of account activity to detect patterns inconsistent with a player's stated profile or normal gambling behaviour.
  4. Suspicious Activity Reporting — formal procedures for escalating and filing reports with the relevant authority where activity meets the threshold for suspicion.
  5. Record Keeping — retention of identification documents, transaction records and correspondence for the periods required by applicable law and regulatory obligation.

Possible Actions the Casino May Take

Where a breach of this policy is identified, or where an account presents unacceptable risk, the operator may apply one or more of the following measures:

  • Temporary suspension of the account pending investigation.
  • Permanent termination of the account.
  • Freezing of funds held in the account balance.
  • Forfeiture of bonuses, free spins and any associated winnings.
  • Requesting additional documentation or a source-of-funds declaration before any withdrawal is released.
  • Running credit and identity checks through third-party agencies.
  • Filing a Suspicious Activity Report with the competent authority.
  • Cooperating fully with law-enforcement or regulatory bodies investigating the account holder.
  • Referral of the matter to appropriate legal or prosecutorial authorities.

Due Diligence Levels

TeleBet applies a three-tier due-diligence framework. The level of scrutiny applied to an account is determined by the risk indicators present at registration and during ongoing activity. All three levels may be escalated at the operator's discretion where new information changes the risk assessment of an account.

Level Name When It Applies
SDD Simplified Due Diligence Applied where the account presents a demonstrably low risk of money laundering or terrorist financing — for example, accounts with low transaction volumes and no adverse risk indicators. Basic identity data is collected but full document verification may be deferred.
CDD Customer Due Diligence The standard level applied to all accounts as a baseline requirement. Includes verification of identity through accepted documents, confirmation of date of birth, and monitoring of transactions against the player's stated activity profile. Required before any withdrawal is released.
EDD Enhanced Due Diligence Applied where specific risk indicators are present — including, but not limited to, politically exposed persons, accounts with unusually high or irregular transaction volumes, accounts linked to higher-risk jurisdictions, or any account flagged by the automated monitoring system. Requires additional documentation, source-of-funds evidence and may involve a senior compliance review.

Transaction Monitoring & Compliance

Withdrawal Playthrough Requirement

As an anti-money-laundering control measure, players are required to wager deposited funds at least once before a withdrawal request may be submitted. This requirement exists to prevent the platform from being used as a pass-through mechanism — a technique through which funds are deposited and immediately withdrawn without meaningful participation in the activity the platform is licensed to offer. The playthrough obligation applies to all deposited balances and is assessed at the point a withdrawal request is initiated.

Post-KYC Withdrawal Review

Every withdrawal request at TeleBet is subject to a combined review process that runs both automated algorithmic checks and a manual compliance assessment before funds are released. The automated layer screens for transaction patterns, velocity anomalies and indicators of structuring behaviour. The manual layer involves a compliance officer reviewing flagged cases and exercising judgement where automated rules alone are insufficient. No withdrawal is released until both layers of this process are satisfied.

Player-to-Player Transfers

Direct transfers of funds between player accounts on the TeleBet platform are prohibited under all circumstances. This restriction is an AML control: peer-to-peer transfers within a gambling platform present a recognised mechanism for layering illicit funds, and the prohibition applies regardless of the stated purpose or relationship between the account holders. Any attempt to circumvent this rule — including through sequences of deposits and withdrawals designed to replicate a transfer — will be treated as a compliance breach and may result in account termination and reporting to the relevant authority.

Consequences of Fraudulent Documents

Warning — Fraudulent Documentation: Any player who submits false, altered, forged or otherwise fraudulent identity or address documents will face immediate and permanent account termination, forfeiture of all funds held in the account — including deposited balances, bonuses and winnings — and mandatory reporting of the incident to law-enforcement and regulatory authorities. The operator reserves the right to pursue all available legal remedies. There are no exceptions to this policy.

Frequently Asked Questions — AML Policy

What is Anti-Money Laundering (AML)?
Anti-Money Laundering refers to the legal framework and internal procedures that licensed operators must maintain to detect, prevent and report any attempt to disguise the proceeds of criminal activity as legitimate funds. Money laundering typically involves three stages: placement (introducing illicit funds into the financial system), layering (obscuring the trail through a series of transactions) and integration (reintroducing the funds as apparently legitimate income). TeleBet enforces AML obligations in compliance with the conditions of its licence from the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia National Lottery Administration, licence number ስ/ው/ብሎ/29/2016, and all applicable law. The policy applies to every registered account on the platform without exception.
Why are there different due-diligence levels?
Different customer relationships carry different levels of financial crime risk, and applying the same level of scrutiny uniformly to every account would be both disproportionate and operationally inefficient. Simplified Due Diligence (SDD) is reserved for accounts presenting demonstrably low risk. Customer Due Diligence (CDD) is the standard baseline applied to all accounts and covers identity verification and ongoing transaction monitoring. Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) is triggered by specific risk indicators — such as unusually high transaction volumes, politically exposed person status or links to higher-risk jurisdictions — and requires additional documentation and a senior compliance review. Calibrating the level of scrutiny to the level of risk allows compliance resources to be concentrated where the threat to the integrity of the platform is greatest.
What happens if money laundering is suspected?
Where activity on an account meets the threshold for suspicion, TeleBet is legally obligated to act. The account will be suspended pending investigation, and a Suspicious Activity Report will be filed with the relevant competent authority. Funds associated with the account may be frozen for the duration of the investigation. The operator is prohibited by law from disclosing to the account holder that a report has been made — a restriction known as the tipping-off prohibition. If the investigation confirms the suspicion, the account will be permanently terminated, all funds forfeited and the matter referred to law-enforcement. Full cooperation with any subsequent regulatory or law-enforcement inquiry is mandatory.
Why must deposited funds be played through before a withdrawal can be requested?
The requirement to wager deposited funds at least once before submitting a withdrawal request is an anti-money-laundering control, not a promotional condition. Without this requirement, a gambling platform could be used as a straightforward pass-through: funds deposited and immediately withdrawn, with the casino acting as an unwitting intermediary in the placement stage of money laundering. By requiring a single playthrough of deposited funds, TeleBet ensures that all balances processed through a withdrawal request have been genuinely applied to the gambling activity the platform is licensed to provide. This is a standard and widely applied industry safeguard.
What are the consequences of submitting fraudulent documents?
Submitting false, altered, forged or otherwise fraudulent identity or address documents is a serious compliance and criminal matter. The consequences are immediate and non-negotiable: the account will be permanently terminated, all funds held in the account — including deposited balances, bonuses and any winnings — will be forfeited, and the incident will be reported to law-enforcement and regulatory authorities without delay. The operator reserves the right to pursue all available legal remedies, and players should be aware that the submission of fraudulent documents may constitute a criminal offence under Ethiopian law, independent of any action taken by TeleBet. No appeal or reinstatement process is available in such cases.