Gaming and gambling platforms are increasingly emerging as channels for money laundering and other financial crimes as criminals exploit digital payments, online accounts and cross-border transactions to disguise the movement of illicit funds.
The Financial Action Task Force has warned countries, regulators and financial institutions about growing financial crime risks across casinos, gambling activities and online gaming as these sectors become increasingly digital and interconnected.
Proposal for Conducting Cyber Crisis Drill, Tabletop Exercise (TTEx) & CCMP Readiness Exercise
Money Can Move Without Any Real Gambling
One of the methods highlighted by the FATF involves criminals using gambling platforms to move money without actually engaging in genuine gambling.
Funds can be deposited into accounts, transferred or withdrawn in ways that make the transactions appear connected with legitimate gambling activity.
The FATF has also warned about unusually large or coordinated betting activity and transaction patterns that may indicate attempts to misuse gaming and gambling systems.
How Are Criminals Breaking Up Large Transactions?
Another technique involves dividing larger sums into numerous smaller transactions.
This method, commonly referred to as “smurfing”, can make suspicious financial activity harder to detect because individual transactions may appear ordinary when viewed separately.
The overall pattern can become clearer only when transactions across different accounts, payment methods and periods are examined together.
Illegal Gambling Platforms Pose Major Risk
The FATF has identified illegal gambling as one of the sector’s most significant financial crime risks.
Illegal and unlicensed operators may operate across borders and can present themselves as legitimate businesses while offering greater anonymity.
According to the FATF, these platforms can attract both consumers and criminal actors and may be exploited for money laundering and related financial crimes.
Fake Identities and Multiple Payment Methods Under Scanner
Criminal networks may use multiple accounts and payment methods under different identities to make transactions harder to trace.
The FATF has identified discrepancies between customer and payment information, suspicious identity documents and unusual transaction behaviour among the warning signs authorities and businesses should examine.
Complex ownership structures can also make it difficult to determine who ultimately controls a gambling or gaming operation.
Why Are Digital Platforms Harder to Monitor?
Gaming and gambling have become increasingly connected with the wider digital financial ecosystem.
Payments may involve bank accounts, e-wallets, mobile money and virtual assets, allowing funds to move quickly across different services and jurisdictions.
The FATF said this increasingly complex ecosystem creates additional challenges for regulators, financial institutions and law-enforcement agencies trying to identify suspicious activity.
What Warning Signs Should Institutions Look For?
Risk indicators highlighted by the FATF include suspicious transaction and betting patterns, multiple accounts and payment methods, inconsistencies in customer information and activity that does not match the expected customer profile.
Financial institutions and gaming businesses therefore need to look beyond the value of an individual transaction and assess the wider pattern of financial activity.
Customer identity, source of funds, payment methods and links between different accounts can all become important in determining whether apparently legitimate activity may be masking financial crime.
FATF Calls for Stronger Oversight and Information Sharing
The FATF has called on governments to strengthen oversight, tackle illegal and offshore operators and improve international cooperation.
Greater information sharing between financial institutions, regulators and law-enforcement agencies can help reveal networks that operate through several accounts, payment systems and jurisdictions.
The organisation stressed that its risk indicators do not mean gaming or gambling activity is inherently criminal. Instead, they are intended to help governments and businesses identify circumstances in which legitimate-looking activity may be abused for money laundering, terrorist financing or proliferation financing.
As digital payments and online gaming continue to expand, the FATF has warned that criminals may increasingly seek to exploit gaps between financial institutions, payment platforms and regulatory systems.
Stronger customer verification, transaction monitoring, suspicious activity reporting and cooperation between authorities are therefore becoming increasingly important in detecting and disrupting the misuse of gaming and gambling platforms.
Why This Matters for Users
For users, the warning is simple: gaming and gambling platforms can sometimes be misused to move illegal money. Unusual payment requests, repeated small transfers or accounts using different names and payment methods should raise concern. People should avoid unlicensed platforms and be cautious before sending money through unfamiliar gaming or betting services.
About the author — Ayesha Aayat writes on cybercrime, digital safety, and emerging online threats. Her work focuses on public awareness, legal clarity, and technology-driven risks.
Follow for daily updates on cybercrime, corporate fraud, DFIR, hacking, investigations, and digital forensics
