Similarly, the Cullen Commission report paints a stark picture of the enormous amounts laundered through the gaming industry in British Columbia, Canada. For example, the Crown Casinos in Melbourne and Perth, Australia, are facing allegations that hundreds of millions of dollars were laundered through their casinos between 20 via “junket” programmes in which the casino and tour operators facilitated a period of gambling by high-roller players from foreign jurisdictions. The extent to which this occurs, however, can still come as a shock – especially in countries with supposedly strict AML measures. The fact that criminals can exploit this industry to launder money isn’t exactly a revelation. In 2021, the global gambling industry generated record-breaking revenues, hitting USD 261 billion in the US and EUR 87.2 billion in Europe. Moreover, it’s a big industry that’s growing exponentially. It includes a wide variety of businesses that juggle large transactions (often in cash) at a rapid scale, such as physical casinos, online casinos, bars and clubs housing poker machines, and both physical and online sports betting services.
The gambling industry is perfect for laundering criminal funds. Isys Lam, Junior Legal Researcher and Andrew Dornbierer, Senior Asset Recovery Specialist Money laundering through the gambling industry