The difference in money laundering practices in remote gaming and land-based gaming

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is to present the difference of money-laundering in gaming between land-based and remote sectors. The objectives of this study are to understand the motives of the money launderer and analyse the potential to launder money in the land-based and remote sector, to identify setbacks which the local gaming industry is subject to and how such are being backed up by the Maltese regulatory framework. Also, this study aims to determine the major gaps in preventing money laundering and how these may be undertaken. This dissertation focuses on the factors affecting anti-money laundering and the funding of terrorism framework, being the Interface, Product, Geographical and Payment method risk factors. This research strongly delves into the 3 money-laundering stages being Placement, layering and Integration. Results were obtained through a qualitative analysis approach, by means of a semi-structured interview planned on a one-to-one basis with interviewees, whereby participants shared their works through methods and systems which are being adopted to fight ML. The struggle of detecting ML at an early stage and preventing escalation has been one of the main discussions. The resources, strategies and measures that are being used to fight such crime have also been explored. Such discussions were of essence since the open-ended questions put forward, allowed the participants to fully express their replies, and therefore the researcher could achieve highly informative and holistic details. Through this feedback, the researcher has conveyed ways with which operators may embed an AML culture within their company to be fully compliant with the regulation and lower their risk appetite towards money laundering activities. At the end of this study, the researcher will provide suggestions for any future studies that could be conducted following this study, such as Challenges and Risks that Gaming companies face due to money-laundering. With these suggestions, this study could be used as a base for them to identify more ML in this industry and to increase the information about this subject especially when it comes to Malta. Through this dissertation, one can find well-explained, detailed information about money laundering’s affect on the gaming industry based in Malta, the process of how ML is being bypassed through the system, how the leading authorities and companies deal with this issue and lastly, what could be improved to reduce the cases of ML within the gaming industry.