FATF Flags Higher Financial Crime Risks Across Casinos and Betting

France.- 11 September 2026 | www.zonadeazar.com The Financial Action Task Force has published a new global assessment of financial crime risks across gaming and gambling, identifying land-based casinos, online casinos and sports betting platforms as among the sectors most exposed to money laundering.

The organisation also identifies illegal and offshore gambling as one of the industry’s most significant emerging threats.

The findings reflect a gambling ecosystem that has expanded rapidly in scale while becoming increasingly digital, cross-border and interconnected with multiple payment systems.

New Global Assessment

The project examined financial crime risks across casinos, gambling activities and video gaming over approximately one year.

FATF drew on contributions from more than 80 jurisdictions, alongside industry bodies and researchers.

The work updates international understanding of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation-financing threats affecting the sector.

Land-Based Casinos Remain Highly Exposed

Traditional casinos remain among the activities with significant risk.

They have historically attracted financial crime concerns because they combine substantial monetary flows, cash, gaming chips, deposits and prize payments within a single environment.

Those characteristics continue to create opportunities for criminal exploitation.

Online Casinos Add New Complexity

Digital casino activity brings many of the same vulnerabilities into an online environment.

Remote access, cross-border customer bases and multiple payment methods make supervision significantly more complex.

Sports Betting Among the Higher-Risk Verticals

Sports betting platforms are also identified among the gambling sectors with particularly notable financial crime exposure.

The speed and volume of transactions, alongside large numbers of markets and events, create distinct monitoring challenges.

Suspicious Betting on Manipulated Events

FATF highlights unusually large or co-ordinated bets on events already flagged for potential competition manipulation.

Such activity can raise both sporting-integrity and financial-crime concerns.

Video Gaming Appears Lower Risk

The project also examined video gaming.

Although gaming and gambling share structural features such as international customer bases and digital fund flows, evidence indicates money laundering through video gaming takes place on a smaller scale than through gambling.

Illegal Gambling a Major Concern

One of the most significant findings concerns unlicensed markets.

In some jurisdictions, illegal gambling activity can rival or exceed the size of the legal regulated market.

This significantly complicates enforcement.

Offshore Operators

FATF highlights offshore businesses operating outside local licensing systems.

Such operators may present themselves as legitimate to consumers despite avoiding comparable regulatory oversight.

Anonymity Can Attract Criminal Actors

Illegal platforms may offer greater anonymity.

That feature can appeal not only to ordinary customers but also to criminals seeking channels through which funds can be moved with weaker controls.

Platforms Used to Move Funds Without Gambling

One warning sign involves gambling accounts used primarily to transfer money.

Funds can be deposited, subjected to little or no genuine gambling activity and subsequently withdrawn.

The account effectively becomes a financial-transfer mechanism.

Smurfing

FATF also highlights smurfing.

This involves dividing larger transactions into multiple smaller payments in an effort to avoid automated detection or reporting thresholds.

Fragmented Transactions

Funds may be split across:

• Multiple accounts.
• Several operators.
• Different payment instruments.
• Numerous low-value transactions.

This can make the underlying financial pattern harder to identify.

Co-ordinated Betting

Large or highly co-ordinated betting patterns are another risk indicator.

Such activity becomes especially relevant where the underlying sports event already presents manipulation concerns.

Competition Manipulation

Suspicious wagering around manipulated events can combine two different risks.

The first concerns sporting fraud.

The second involves the possibility that betting is also being used to transfer or legitimise illicit funds.

Market Expansion Increases Exposure

FATF links growing risk partly to the overall expansion of gambling markets.

Larger volumes create more opportunities for legitimate participation but also provide greater scale for criminal abuse.

Digitisation Accelerates Change

The migration towards online platforms adds further complexity.

Customers can transact remotely without physically entering a licensed venue.

Traditional controls therefore need to evolve.

Cross-Border Ecosystems

Modern gambling businesses can span multiple countries.

A platform may be licensed in one jurisdiction, use technology from another, process payments elsewhere and serve customers in several markets.

Multiple Payment Channels

Gaming and gambling commonly use:

• Cash.
• Cards.
• E-wallets.
• Mobile money.
• Virtual assets.
• Bank transfers.

Each payment method brings different risk considerations.

E-Wallet Exposure

Digital wallets provide convenience and speed.

However, they can add layers between the original source of funds and the gambling platform.

Mobile Money

Mobile money is particularly relevant in markets where conventional banking penetration is lower.

FATF says such channels should also be incorporated into financial-crime risk assessments.

Virtual Assets

Cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets introduce further challenges.

Cross-border transfer capability and transaction speed can increase complexity for monitoring teams.

Links to the Formal Financial System

Gambling platforms can provide gateways into the broader financial system.

Funds may move from gambling accounts into banks or other regulated financial services.

Increasingly Interconnected Ecosystem

Operators also depend on a broad range of external services.

These may include:

• Payment processors.
• Social-media platforms.
• Digital marketplaces.
• Software developers.
• Identity services.
• Infrastructure providers.

Regulatory Gaps Among Service Providers

Some of those businesses may fall outside dedicated gambling regulatory frameworks.

These gaps can create additional opportunities for misuse.

Regulatory Differences Between Countries

Criminals can exploit differences in national approaches.

Businesses may seek jurisdictions where supervision is weaker or certain controls are less stringent.

Information-Sharing Barriers

Different legal systems can also create barriers to sharing information between regulators, private companies and law-enforcement bodies.

International Co-operation

FATF argues that stronger cross-border collaboration is essential.

Financial crime linked to gambling frequently spans several jurisdictions.

Beneficial Ownership Risks

The organisation also warns about corporate ownership structures designed to obscure who ultimately controls a gambling platform.

Shareholdings can potentially be fragmented to remain below regulatory-check thresholds.

Complex Corporate Structures

Ownership can be hidden through:

• Holding companies.
• Nominee shareholders.
• Offshore entities.
• Multi-layered corporate structures.

This complicates effective due diligence.

Weak AML Environments Increase Risk

The risk is amplified in jurisdictions where AML/CFT controls are weak.

Poor anti-corruption safeguards can create further vulnerabilities.

Organised Crime Infiltration

Traditional casinos have long faced attempts by organised crime groups to gain ownership or influence over operations.

FATF says this threat remains relevant.

Online Ownership Can Be Harder to Trace

The same risk can become even more complex online.

Digital businesses may use sophisticated international ownership structures that are harder to identify than those of a physical venue.

Cyber-Enabled Fraud

FATF also links gambling abuse with cyber-enabled fraud.

Funds generated through online scams may subsequently be channelled through gambling accounts.

Professional Money Laundering Networks

Professional money launderers can use gambling as part of broader schemes.

These networks specialise in concealing the criminal origin of funds.

Corruption

Corruption is another associated offence.

Weak institutional environments can facilitate both illegal operators and efforts to influence regulatory systems.

New Risk Indicators

FATF has published a series of practical indicators to help authorities and businesses identify suspicious behaviour.

The indicators cover:

• Transactions.
• Customer behaviour.
• Identity.
• Operations.
• Corporate ownership.

Multiple Accounts

Use of numerous accounts by one individual can require enhanced scrutiny.

This may be used to fragment transaction flows.

Multiple Identities

Different identities may also be used to control accounts.

Possible methods include false documents, stolen identities or intermediaries.

Multiple Payment Methods

Frequent use of several different payment instruments without a clear economic rationale can be another warning sign.

Customer-Payment Mismatches

Discrepancies between account-holder information and payment details may indicate third-party transactions.

Suspicious Identity Documents

Irregular or questionable identity documentation remains a major KYC concern.

Criminal Links to Operators or Owners

Risk assessment should extend beyond players.

Operators and beneficial owners may themselves have connections with organised crime or fraud networks.

Importance of KYC

Effective customer identification remains a fundamental safeguard.

Operators must be able to establish who is genuinely using their services.

Customer Due Diligence

Due diligence should be proportionate to risk.

Higher-risk customers, jurisdictions or payment methods may require deeper review.

Continuous Monitoring

Controls cannot stop after account registration.

Transaction behaviour should be monitored throughout the customer relationship.

Risk-Based Approach

FATF continues to promote a risk-based approach.

Not every transaction requires identical controls.

Resources should be focused where exposure is greatest.

Priority for Higher-Risk Verticals

Land-based casinos, online casinos and sports betting require particular attention under the findings.

Regulators can use the report to prioritise supervision.

Giles Thomson Warns Governments

FATF President Giles Thomson warned that without strong safeguards, gaming and gambling can provide attractive gateways for fraudsters, professional money launderers and organised criminal networks.

He called on governments to respond using the new risk indicators.

Stronger Oversight

One recommended response is more robust supervision.

Regulators need tools capable of identifying suspicious activity quickly.

Crackdown on Offshore Gambling

FATF is also calling for stronger action against illegal and offshore operators.

A licensed domestic market does not automatically eliminate unregulated competition.

Public-Private Co-operation

Closer collaboration between authorities and the private sector is another priority.

Operators possess transaction data that can be critical to investigations.

Information Sharing

Effective information-sharing mechanisms can involve:

• Gambling operators.
• Banks.
• Regulators.
• Law enforcement.
• Financial-intelligence units.

First Detailed Online and Illegal Gambling Review

The project represents FATF’s first detailed examination specifically covering online and illegal gambling risks.

This reflects the rapidly growing importance of those areas.

Evolution from Previous Casino Work

FATF has previously analysed traditional casino vulnerabilities.

The new work expands that framework into a much more digital and international environment.

Technology as Opportunity and Risk

Technology improves efficiency, access and product development.

At the same time, faster and more complex transactions can create new opportunities for abuse.

Compliance as a Strategic Requirement

For regulated operators, AML and KYC are increasingly strategic rather than merely administrative obligations.

Strong controls are critical to maintaining licences and relationships with banks, suppliers and regulators.

Impact on Land-Based Casinos

Physical casinos will need to maintain robust monitoring of cash flows, customers and chip transactions.

Traditional financial crime risks remain.

Impact on Online Operators

Digital businesses face additional challenges involving remote identity checks, international payments and transaction speed.

Automation will become increasingly important.

Impact on Sportsbooks

Sports betting businesses need to combine AML controls with integrity monitoring.

Certain betting patterns may raise both financial and sporting concerns.

Integrity and Financial Crime Can Overlap

A manipulated event may attract irregular betting.

Those same transactions could potentially form part of a broader financial crime scheme.

Impact on Regulators

Authorities can use the indicators to update national risk assessments.

The findings may also influence future regulations and supervisory priorities.

Impact on Banks and Payment Providers

Financial institutions working with gambling businesses are also affected.

Unusual transaction flows may require enhanced review.

Industry Context

Global gaming and gambling are undergoing profound structural change.

Online growth, digital payments and international expansion have created significant commercial opportunities.

The same developments have also created additional tools that criminals can potentially exploit.

FATF’s analysis aims to update global prevention frameworks for this new environment.

Next Steps and Impact

The new FATF indicators will serve as a reference for governments, regulators, gambling operators and financial institutions.

Land-based casinos, online casinos and sports betting platforms emerge as the verticals requiring particular attention because of their exposure to money laundering and other financial crime.

Illegal and offshore gambling is also identified as a central threat.

For regulated operators, the report points towards increasing expectations around AML, KYC, beneficial ownership checks, transaction monitoring and payment controls.

The ability to identify suspicious activity in real time and demonstrate effective risk-based safeguards is likely to become increasingly important across regulated international gambling markets.

Editó: @fonta