FATF Warns Online Gambling Is Becoming a Bigger Money Laundering Channel

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) says online gambling platforms are drawing more scrutiny because they create more ways to move funds, disguise activity, and operate across borders. For PSPs, that is the familiar problem: more payment methods, more jurisdictions, and more places for AML controls to miss the point.

1. FATF, the Paris-based global financial crime watchdog, said the fast growth of online gaming and gambling is creating fresh vulnerabilities. It singled out the use of multiple payment methods and access to operators outside regulated markets as key pressure points.
2. The watchdog said e-wallets, mobile money services, and virtual assets can make it harder for regulators and compliance teams to track fund flows accurately across borders. That matters because the industry’s payment stack is now part of the risk picture, not just the betting flow itself.
3. Researchers from H2 Gambling Capital expect online gambling to account for more than half of global gross gaming revenue for the first time in 2029. FATF’s warning lands against that backdrop: more volume, more routes, and more reasons for criminals to treat the sector as infrastructure.
4. FATF published a series of risk indicators for gambling companies, regulators, and law enforcement. Among them are payment methods shared by multiple customers, mismatches between a customer’s declared location and IP address, large deposits and withdrawals with little betting activity, and “smurfing” — splitting transactions into smaller amounts to avoid AML or KYC (know-your-customer) controls.
5. Giles Thomson, president of FATF, said that without robust safeguards these sectors can become attractive gateways for fraudsters, professional money launderers, and organized criminal networks. He called for stronger oversight, action against illegal and offshore operators, more international co-operation, and deeper public-private collaboration.

FATF also said it is concerned about terrorist financing, with specialized assessments pointing to risks involving gaming platforms and related services such as livestreaming sites. For operators and PSPs, the message is straightforward: if your payments stack can move money quickly, regulators will expect it to spot abuse just as quickly.