News
Rise in Casino Gambling in U.S. Seen as Potential Boon to Money Launderers
By Colby Adams
printThe 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 woefully understaffed, according to law enforcement officials and former IRS auditors. Tasked with monitoring the casino business and catching efforts to launder illicit funds through legal gaming, the IRS lacks staff and resources to regularly audit casinos, said James Dowling, a former IRS special agent and president of the Dowling Advisory Group, a Pasadena, CA consultancy. But the IRS unit charged with enforcing Bank Secrecy...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Subscribe
Learn More
Related News
One of the largest sportsbooks in Nevada knowingly aided a massive illegal gambling operation for more than a year and even took steps to weaken its anti-money laundering rules after being warned of its compliance shortcomings by IRS examiners, U.S. officials said Monday.
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.
Banks are largely ignoring requests made by casinos under a confidential data-sharing program designed to combat illicit finance, according to sources.
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.
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.
At least two large U.S. banks have started asking their casino clients more questions in the wake of disclosures that federal officials are investigating alleged violations of anti-money laundering laws.
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.
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.
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.
The U.S. Treasury handed down a $250,000 civil money penalty against a small Minnesota tribal casino on Thursday for "extensive violations" of anti-money laundering rules over a three-year period.
Poor compliance efforts by gambling operations are translating into regulatory risks for the financial institutions that bank them, according to anti-money laundering consultants.
An online gambling ban that requires banks to monitor for illegal transactions is unlikely to be overturned before a June 1 enforcement deadline, despite congressional efforts to repeal the law.
Poor supervision of high-rollers involved in gaming tour "junkets" and the difficultly in determining jurisdiction over gambling operations on ships at sea are just some of the "significant" money laundering vulnerabilities of the international gambling industry, according to a global watchdog.
Casinos facing an economic slump have little incentive to conduct thorough due diligence on high stakes gamblers possibly tied to money laundering operations, say former investigators.
Casinos that implement risk-based anti-money laundering programs will rely heavily on the experience of their compliance officers, an intergovernmental watchdog said Tuesday.
Two Chinese nationals face up to 65 years in prison after being convicted on 15 counts, including racketeering and money laundering. Their wives face nearly 20-year sentences. The four siphoned money from Bank of China, using shell companies to move it to U.S. and international banks and casinos.
Programs that take control of another person's computer to launder money are flooding internet gambling sites.
The giant MGM Mirage Casino in Las Vegas has been penalized $5 million by the Nevada Gaming Control Board for failure to file 15,000 casino currency transaction reports.