Articles
December 2, 2016
By Mary Perez
The international body that grades countries’ efforts to prevent money laundering recognized significant investment of the casino industry in anti–money laundering efforts.
The new report from the Financial Action Task Force says the industry “has a good understanding of risks and obligations.” The industry has exceeded the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act and has shown an increased focus on raising awareness and improving compliance, the report said.
The report is released every 10 years, and the 2006 report was critical of casinos.
“It’s no accident that FATF’s evaluation of the casino gaming industry greatly improved from 2006 to 2016,” said Geoff Freeman, AGA president and CEO. “We’re proud of the incredible strides the industry has made not only since FATF’s report of the gaming industry 10 years ago, but in the last three years as we’ve built a partnership with the federal government that serves as a model for other industries.”
In advance of the FATF evaluation, AGA in 2014 released its first Best Practices for AML Compliance and updates it annually.
FATF evaluation reports are used by governments and the private sector to underscore money laundering and terrorist financing risks posed by countries and the financial sectors within them.