ISLAMABAD(National Times)- The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has warned of emerging risks to economies from rising online gaming and gambling operations, while sharing new risk indicators with countries to combat money laundering and terror financing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs gaming and gambling services become increasingly digital, cross-border and interconnected, new money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing risks are emerging,\u201d said the FATF, the Paris-based global watchdog on money laundering, terror financing and proliferation financing related to weapons of mass destruction, on Wednesday after conducting surveys across 80 jurisdictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The findings and risk indicators examine risks across casinos, gambling and online gaming, including online platforms, payment channels, illegal operators and their links to the broader financial system. The FATF said it also sets international standards to combat illicit finance and assesses whether countries are taking effective action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest report said the gaming and gambling industries had changed significantly in recent years and continued to evolve through the expansion of online, cross-border, multi-product and multi-payment platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGaming and gambling establishments and platforms are now part of a broader interconnected value transfer ecosystem with numerous actors, some of which fall outside national anti-money laundering\/counter-terrorist financing (AML\/CFT) regulatory frameworks,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These factors, as well as the varying scope among jurisdictions in AML\/CFT regulation of gambling and understanding of gaming risk-exposed activity, have led to developments in the money laundering (ML), terrorist financing (TF) and, to a somewhat lesser extent, proliferation financing (PF) risks associated with the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The FATF also alerted countries and regulators to ways of spotting and blocking the abuse of the gaming and gambling sectors, including criminals using gambling platforms to move money without actually gambling, making multiple small transactions (\u201csmurfing\u201d) to avoid detection, and placing unusually large or coordinated bets on events flagged for possible competition manipulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Analysis by the FATF identified new opportunities for criminal abuse in the gaming and gambling sectors, following an increase in the global market size, a rise in the use of online platforms and the growing use of payment methods that allow rapid, anonymous transactions across borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It identified illegal gambling as one of the sector\u2019s most significant risks. In many jurisdictions, illegal markets rival or even exceed the size of legal gambling markets. Illegal gambling operators are prevalent across jurisdictions, regardless of the legal status of gambling or the regulatory frameworks in place. Illegal and unlicensed offshore operators often present themselves as legitimate businesses while offering anonymity and incentives that can attract both consumers and criminal actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It said technological innovation had expanded activity across online, cross-border and multi-payment platforms, creating increasingly complex ecosystems for regulators and law enforcement. With gaming and gambling activities increasingly interconnected with the wider digital economy, the sector provides multiple points of access to the formal financial system through cash, e-wallets, mobile money and virtual assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gaming and gambling platforms depend on a wide range of related services, including social media platforms, digital marketplaces and software developers. These actors may fall outside existing regulatory frameworks, creating additional opportunities for criminal abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It warned that criminals and illegal operators can exploit differences in regulatory approaches across jurisdictions. These differences can also create barriers to information sharing between the private and public sectors and pose challenges to international cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The FATF also warned that beneficial ownership and shareholding structures of platforms can be designed to bypass thresholds for regulatory checks, especially when AML\/CFT controls and anti-corruption frameworks are weak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FATF President Giles Thomson urged governments to take note of the risk indicators and put in place appropriate risk-based responses \u2014 from strengthening oversight and cracking down on illegal and offshore operators to boosting international cooperation and deepening public-private collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also highlighted the continued threat of criminal infiltration and exploitation of gaming and gambling operators and identified links between gaming and gambling abuse and a range of other offences, including corruption, cyber-enabled fraud, professional money laundering networks, and the use of illegal or unlicensed offshore operators to facilitate criminal activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new risk indicators also provide practical guidance to identify, assess and respond to suspicious activity. The indicators highlight behavioural, transactional and operational warning signs associated with money laundering and terrorist financing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These include the use of multiple accounts and payment methods under different identities, discrepancies between customer and payment information, suspicious identity documents and criminal links involving gambling operators or beneficial owners, including involvement in cyber-enabled fraud and organised crime; suspicious betting and transaction patterns; and complex ownership structures that obscure beneficial ownership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regulators have been alerted to be vigilant for attempts to influence or bribe venue staff through frequent dealings with one or two staff members, requests for cash-ups, claims through lottery tickets, betting slips, vouchers or prize coupons, and taking instructions from customers over a mobile phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Warning signs also include deliberate attempts to conceal identity, such as repeated use of virtual private networks (VPNs), use of multiple devices and discrepancies between a customer\u2019s claimed residence and their detected location. Customers may also try to open multiple accounts under the same name or a false name, while an internet protocol (IP) address may not match the customer\u2019s stated location.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD(National Times)- The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has warned of emerging risks to economies from rising online gaming and gambling operations, while sharing new risk indicators with countries to combat money laundering and terror financing. \u201cAs gaming and gambling services become increasingly digital, cross-border and interconnected, new money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n