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The introduction of new merchant codes to identify legal online wagers has spurred a handful of U.S. banks to reconsider the compliance risks of processing payments for the online gaming industry, according to sources.
Leaders of a senate panel Wednesday called for stronger oversight of online gaming to reverse the effects of a 2011 U.S. Justice Department memorandum that loosened restrictions on the industry.
An agreement between a global online gaming company and an Atlantic City casino to offer Internet wagering in New Jersey faces an uphill battle to gain the necessary approval from state regulators, say analysts.
Since the 2011 indictment by the U.S. Justice Department of some of the most prominent online gambling sites in the world, the financial risks posed by Internet betting have changed, believes Christine Duhaime, barrister and solicitor at Vancouver-based Duhaime Law.
A U.S. Justice Department memorandum clearing the way for online gaming may exacerbate compliance woes for banks operating under a 2006 anti-gambling law, say attorneys and industry groups.
As some states inch toward legalizing online gambling, they are unlikely to get much cooperation from financial institutions concerned that they'll be held liable for processing even legal bets, say analysts.
The U.S. Justice Department is seeking $3 billion in forfeitures and fines from three of the largest online gambling businesses and the financial institutions and individuals that helped to process bets.
The U.S. House Financial Services Committee approved a measure Wednesday that would legalize some Internet gambling and diminish the compliance duties of financial institutions monitoring for online bets and payouts.
U.S. banks are still fine tuning policies on when to report suspicious activity and reject transactions tied to online gambling after the passing of a June 1 enforcement deadline.
U.S. Justice Department cases tied to a controversial ban on online gambling will likely complicate congressional efforts to overturn the law before a June enforcement deadline, say government officials and consultants.
Partisan bickering and a backlog of legislation are stymieing congressional attempts to overturn a controversial ban on online gambling before a June enforcement deadline, according to analysts.
The expansion of the casino industry to new states throughout the U.S. increases the likelihood that gaming will grow as a vehicle for money laundering, particularly since the federal agency charged with its oversight is understaffed, according to law enforcement officials and former IRS auditors.
The federal ban on processing transactions tied to Internet gambling will likely be overturned at some point, but lawmakers have yet to address how to best mitigate related money laundering risks, according to a former IRS agent who recently testified before U.S. lawmakers.
A bill that would legalize Internet gambling within the United States through licenses issued by the Treasury Department will likely be approved by the House of Representatives, say analysts.
U.S. financial regulators Friday granted financial institutions a six-month delay in enforcing a controversial Internet gambling ban that will require banks to freeze transactions tied to the illegal organizations.
A call by over a dozen lawmakers to delay a Dec. 1 deadline requiring banks to block transactions tied to Internet gambling won't likely sway the White House, say analysts.
A Canadian national laundered nearly $380 million and illegally processed payouts from online gambling companies to their U.S.-based customers, according to a federal indictment released Thursday. The indictment seeks more than half-billion dollars in forfeitures.
Odds that banks won't have to implement programs to detect online gambling have markedly improved this year after past efforts to halt the regulation fell flat, according to gaming experts.
The United States has ordered four banks to freeze $33 million tied to companies that dole out winnings to online poker players, according to an Internet gambling advocacy group.
Poor supervision of high-rollers involved in gaming tour "junkets" and the difficultly in determining jurisdiction over gambling operations on ships at sea are just some of the "significant" money laundering vulnerabilities of the international gambling industry, according to a global watchdog.
