News
FATF: Gambling Tourism Highlights Gaps in AML Controls for Casinos
printPoor supervision of high-rollers involved in gaming tour "junkets" and the difficultly in determining jurisdiction over gambling operations while ships are at sea are just some of the "significant" money laundering vulnerabilities of the international gambling industry, according to a global watchdog group. Gambling tour operators typically don't detail clients' source of funds or adequately verify their identities, even though they facilitate cross-border transfer of their funds, according to the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The result is "layers of obscurity" for money launderers. Of particular concern is the emerging casino industry in Asia and Africa in countries that...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Subscribe
Learn More
Related News
The U.S. gaming sector's string of recent compliance penalties have prompted many casinos to rethink how they implement anti-money laundering controls, according to Kim McCabe, founder of Henderson, NV-based consultancy KMC, LLC.
The U.K. Gambling Commission may have called on firms last month to improve their anti-money laundering controls, but the concerns over how best to do that are not new to the nation's gaming sector.
Nevada state regulators will levy a monetary penalty and set conditions on Caesars Entertainment's gaming license as part of an anti-money laundering settlement, according to an individual with knowledge of the plan.
A Northern Mariana Islands casino will forfeit approximately $3 million to the U.S. Justice Department under the terms of a deal reached Thursday that will spare the gambling operation criminal charges.
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed a $75 million fine Wednesday against a casino in the Northern Mariana Islands, less than a year after banning its former VIP services manager over related infractions.
A bankruptcy court cleared the way Wednesday for a $10 million fine against Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort for poor compliance with recordkeeping and reporting rules, the U.S. Treasury Department said.
Ahead of the issuance of expected federal guidance, a top lobbying group for America's casinos Thursday outlined how the gaming industry should best shield itself from money launderers.
Federal officials are investigating four of Nevada's most well-known casinos for potential violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, according to sources familiar with the matter and a regulatory disclosure published Monday.
Leaders of a senate panel Wednesday called for stronger oversight of online gaming to reverse the effects of a 2011 U.S. Justice Department memorandum that loosened restrictions on the industry.
An agreement between a global online gaming company and an Atlantic City casino to offer Internet wagering in New Jersey faces an uphill battle to gain the necessary approval from state regulators, say analysts.
Fueled by the need to fill budgetary coffers, the expansion of casinos in the United States will likely foster another sort of growth-more state anti-money laundering laws.
Several of the largest casinos in Nevada are strengthening their Patriot Act controls in the wake of an investigation into Las Vegas Sands Corp. for insufficiently vetting risky clients.
Since the 2011 indictment by the U.S. Justice Department of some of the most prominent online gambling sites in the world, the financial risks posed by Internet betting have changed, believes Christine Duhaime, barrister and solicitor at Vancouver-based Duhaime Law.
Austria and Liechtenstein agreed to exchange tax-related information, Casino group Las Vegas Sands Corp. has ceased executing international money transfers for wealthy gamblers, and more, in this week's roundup.
Federal examiners have found anti-money laundering compliance problems related to customer due diligence and regulatory reporting at two large casinos in Las Vegas, according to individuals familiar with the matter.
Officials in India are looking to strengthen anti-money laundering and terrorist financing controls, U.S. Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and Henry Waxman (D-CA) suspect Wal-Mart's Mexico branch of money laundering, and more, in the midweek roundup.
A U.S. Justice Department memorandum clearing the way for online gaming may exacerbate compliance woes for banks operating under a 2006 anti-gambling law, say attorneys and industry groups.
As some states inch toward legalizing online gambling, they are unlikely to get much cooperation from financial institutions concerned that they'll be held liable for processing even legal bets, say analysts.
The expansion of the casino industry to new states throughout the U.S. increases the likelihood that gaming will grow as a vehicle for money laundering, particularly since the federal agency charged with its oversight is understaffed, according to law enforcement officials and former IRS auditors.
A Canadian national laundered nearly $380 million and illegally processed payouts from online gambling companies to their U.S.-based customers, according to a federal indictment released Thursday. The indictment seeks more than half-billion dollars in forfeitures.