Art. 5 Exemptions for certain professional football clubs | Anti-money laundering regulation (AMLR) | AML

This article mirrors the exemption framework established in Article 4 for gambling service providers, but applies it specifically to professional football clubs.

It gives Member States the discretion to exempt football clubs from the regulation's requirements where low risk can be demonstrated, with a financial threshold built in for clubs in the top division and a broader discretion for those in lower divisions.

Any such exemption must be underpinned by a risk assessment, and Member States must put monitoring in place to guard against abuse of those exemptions.

Important points:

Member States may exempt top-division professional football clubs with an annual turnover below EUR 5,000,000 for each of the previous 2 calendar years, and may exempt lower-division clubs more broadly, provided low risk is demonstrated.
Member States are required to carry out a risk assessment covering money laundering and terrorist financing threats, mitigating factors, and the size and cross-border nature of transactions, taking into account Union-level risk assessment findings.
Member States must establish risk-based monitoring activities or other adequate measures to prevent abuse of any exemptions granted.

1. Member States may decide to exempt, in full or in part, professional football clubs that participate in the highest division of the national football league and that have a total annual turnover of less than EUR 5 000 000, or the equivalent in national currency, for each of the previous 2 calendar years from the requirements set out in this Regulation on the basis of the proven low risk posed by the nature and the scale of operation of such professional football clubs.
2. Member States may decide to exempt, in full or in part, professional football clubs that participate in a division lower than the highest division of the national football league from the requirements set out in this Regulation on the basis of proven low risk posed by the nature and the scale of operation of such professional football clubs.
1. For the purposes of paragraph 1, Member States shall carry out a risk assessment of the professional football clubs assessing:
  1. money laundering and terrorist financing threats and vulnerabilities, and mitigating factors of the professional football clubs;
  2. the risks linked to the size and cross-border nature of the transactions.
2. When carrying out the risk assessments referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, Member States shall take into account the findings of the risk assessments at Union level conducted by the Commission pursuant to Article 7 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640.
1. Member States shall establish risk-based monitoring activities or take other adequate measures to ensure that the exemptions granted pursuant to this Article are not abused.