The manual, reviewed by the United States’ industry and compliance professionals, sets out the standards for the gambling industry’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) leadership – while reflecting recent technology, law changes and patterns of criminal activity within the field.
Alex Costello, AGA’s VP, Government Relations, stated upon the release of the updated guide: “As the methods and sophistication of financial crimes evolve, the gaming industry continues to spearhead efforts to combat money laundering.
"An invaluable resource for our industry, this guide demonstrates gaming’s commitment to protect the US financial system from money laundering and other forms of illicit finance.”
The US gambling landscape has seen some significant changes since the prior 2019 edition, including the 16 newest states to legalise sports betting and iGaming, new types of cyber crimes and fraudulent activity.
The updates include Congress passing the new Bank Secrecy Act through the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, FinCen granting federal exceptive relief for some types of ID verification, and the recently approved jurisdictions for the use of cryptocurrency and digital payments, among others.
Casino gaming is considered to be a leader in AML compliance, becoming the first industry to assemble a set of best practices for AML compliance in 2014.
In recent months, the AGA announced that March, April and May 2022 have been the best three gaming months in industry history, with each surpassing gaming revenue of $5bn.
