Regulatory Alerts2021-01-01
Circular No. 1 of 2021 – Adherence to Section 15 of the Seychelles Gambling Act
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Seychelles mandates that all gambling licensees obtain prior written approval before amending their licences or licence conditions under Section 15 of the Seychelles Gambling Act, 2014. Licensees must submit a formal application with the required fee and supporting documentation, covering changes to gaming equipment, approved games, or specifications such as Return to Player percentages. Failure to secure this pre-approval constitutes a statutory offence, exposing non-compliant licensees to imprisonment of up to three years and fines not exceeding SCR 100,000.
Circular No. 1 of 2021 Date: 7th January, 2021 Adherence to Section 15 of the Seychelles Gambling Act, 2014 The Financial Services Authority (“FSA”) would like to draw the attention of all its licensees under the Seychelles Gambling Act, 2014 (“the Act”) as to the strict adherence to Section 15 of the Act. Section 15(3) of the Act provides that no licence or licence condition shall be amended in any way whatsoever, unless the Authority has approved the amendment in writing. In line with this requirement, all licensees should ensure that the appropriate procedures are followed in regards to the submission of an application, for the FSA’s approval, for amendments to be made to the licence and/or licence conditions. A licensee wishing to make an amendment to their licence and/or licence condition in any way whatsoever, inclusive but not limited to: a) the increase or decrease in slot machines, casino tables (either through relocation of existing slot machines, tables or games, or through importation of new slot machines, tables additional gambling equipment and other accessories); b) the change in approved gambling games; c) the change of gaming specifications, such as game type, change of Return To Player % (RTP%) and denomination (Note that requests for changes to the RTP% must be in the range provided as per the relevant test report and/or Letter of Certification) should inform the FSA of their intention through a formal letter, accompanied by the applicable fee and relevant supporting documents, including by not limited to test reports, Letter of Certification and the detailed description of the changes being requested (in excel format). Upon assessment of the application, the FSA will issue its formal determination to the licensee. Note that failure to submit a completed application will result in delays in processing of the application or may even lead to a rejection of the application by the FSA. Failure to obtain the FSA’s approval before undertaking any changes is an offence under the Act and the licensee shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years and fine not exceeding SCR 100,000 or both such imprisonment and fine pursuant to section 51 of the Act. Financial Services Authority