FATF Warns Gaming and Gambling Sectors Face Growing Financial Crime Risks

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The gaming and gambling industries are becoming increasingly attractive to criminals looking for ways to move money, hide ownership and bypass financial controls, according to a new assessment from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

In a report published on September 9, 2026, the global financial crime watchdog highlighted several ways gambling platforms and gaming services are being exploited. These include moving funds through gambling accounts without actually placing meaningful bets, splitting transactions into smaller amounts to avoid detection, and placing unusually large or coordinated bets on sporting events that may be subject to manipulation.

The concern comes as the gaming and gambling markets continue to expand, particularly online. Digital platforms, cross-border services and faster payment methods have made it easier for customers to move money across jurisdictions, but they have also created new opportunities for criminals.

The FATF's analysis is based on a year-long project involving more than 80 jurisdictions, industry bodies and researchers. It examined financial crime risks across casinos, gambling activities and video gaming, including the organization's first detailed assessment of risks linked specifically to online and illegal gambling.

Illegal gambling presents a major challenge

One of the clearest findings is the scale of illegal gambling.

In some jurisdictions, illegal gambling markets are believed to rival or even exceed the size of regulated markets. Unlicensed operators, including offshore platforms, can often operate across borders while presenting themselves as legitimate businesses.

For criminals, these platforms can be particularly attractive because of the anonymity they may offer and the range of payment methods available.

The problem is not limited to countries where gambling is prohibited. FATF found that illegal and unlicensed operators exist across different regulatory environments, creating challenges for authorities trying to identify and shut down illicit activity.

Digital platforms are creating more points of exposure

The rapid shift towards online gambling has changed the risk landscape considerably.

Gaming and gambling platforms now operate alongside a much wider digital ecosystem that includes social media networks, online marketplaces, software developers and payment providers. Some of these businesses may not fall directly under gambling or financial crime regulations, creating gaps that criminals can exploit.

Payment methods also vary widely. Cash, electronic wallets, mobile money and virtual assets can all be used within the sector, each presenting different money laundering risks.

The speed at which funds can move between accounts and across borders makes suspicious transactions harder to identify, particularly where several services or jurisdictions are involved.

Criminals are finding ways around regulation

Differences between national regulatory systems are another concern.

Criminal operators can take advantage of weaker controls in one jurisdiction while serving customers or moving money through another. Fragmented regulation can also make it more difficult for authorities and private-sector organizations to share information and coordinate investigations.

The FATF also warned about ownership structures.

Individuals behind gambling platforms can use complicated shareholding arrangements to conceal who ultimately controls a business. Where beneficial ownership checks, anti-money laundering controls and anti-corruption measures are weak, these structures can make it harder for authorities to identify the people benefiting from criminal activity.

FATF President Giles Thomson said the sectors could become attractive gateways for fraudsters, professional money launderers and organized criminal networks without adequate safeguards.

He called on governments to strengthen oversight, take action against illegal and offshore operators, improve international cooperation and deepen collaboration between public authorities and the private sector.

Organized crime remains a concern

The risks are not limited to individual transactions.

FATF found that organized criminal groups continue to show an interest in gaining ownership or influence over gaming and gambling businesses. Traditional casinos have faced this problem for years, but online platforms can introduce additional complications because of their ownership structures and cross-border operations.

The report also identified links between abuse of the gaming and gambling sectors and a wider range of crimes.

These include corruption, cyber-enabled fraud, professional money laundering and the use of illegal or unlicensed offshore gambling operators to support criminal activity.

This makes the sector part of a much larger financial crime ecosystem rather than an isolated area of risk.

New indicators to help identify suspicious activity

To help authorities and businesses respond, FATF has published a set of risk indicators designed to highlight warning signs that could point to money laundering, terrorist financing or other forms of criminal abuse.

Some of the indicators relate to customer behaviour and transactions.

For example, the use of multiple accounts or payment methods under different identities could raise concerns. So could differences between a customer's identity information and the details attached to their payment accounts.

Suspicious identity documents, unusual betting or transaction patterns and links between customers and known criminal activity are also highlighted.

The ownership of gambling businesses is another area requiring scrutiny. Complex structures that make it difficult to determine the ultimate beneficial owner may indicate an attempt to conceal control or the movement of illicit funds.

FATF also points to criminal connections involving operators or their owners, including links to organized crime and cyber-enabled fraud.

The risks are changing with the industry

The latest assessment reflects how quickly the gaming and gambling industries are changing.

The growth of online platforms has removed many of the physical barriers that once limited gambling activity. Customers can access services from different jurisdictions, make payments through a variety of channels and move between platforms with relative ease.

For regulators and law enforcement agencies, that creates a more complicated environment in which suspicious activity may be spread across several businesses and countries.

It also means that traditional approaches to monitoring gambling activity may no longer be sufficient.

FATF's new indicators are intended to give governments, regulators and private-sector organizations a more practical way of identifying these risks. Rather than relying on a single suspicious transaction or unusual bet, authorities can look at patterns involving customers, payments, ownership structures and relationships between different entities.

The report ultimately points to a wider challenge facing the industry: as gaming and gambling become more digital, international and interconnected, criminals have more opportunities to exploit the same systems that make the sector convenient for legitimate users.

For regulators and operators, the task will be to keep pace with those changes while ensuring that legitimate businesses do not become easy channels for money laundering, fraud or organized criminal activity.