Four African countries exit FATF grey list signalling improved environment for gambling operators
Removal from the FATF grey list reflects progress in AML reforms and strengthens the financial environment for gambling and betting operators.
Burkina Faso.- Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Nigeria and South Africa have been removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “increased monitoring” or grey list, a milestone that strengthens their anti‑money laundering (AML) and counter‑terrorist financing (CFT) frameworks. The move is set to boost sectors that rely on secure financial systems, including online gambling and sports betting, by enabling more transparent cross-border transactions and stronger regulatory confidence.
According to FATF’s October 2025 plenary report, the four countries “completed their Action Plans within agreed timeframes” and will “no longer be subject to the FATF’s increased monitoring process”. FATF President Elisa de Anda Madrazo described the development as a “positive story for the continent”, highlighting progress made in addressing strategic deficiencies in financial oversight.
Burkina Faso had been under FATF grey‑list monitoring since 2021. During this period, the country implemented reforms that strengthened supervisory authority capacity, improved reporting mechanisms for suspicious transactions and maintained comprehensive beneficial‑ownership information.
Building on this progress, Mozambique added to the grey list in 2022, focused on improving coordination among relevant authorities, enhancing financial intelligence and law‑enforcement capacities, and implementing comprehensive risk‑based supervision.
Nigeria followed in 2023, reinforcing oversight of financial institutions and non-financial businesses, ensuring access to timely beneficial‑ownership information and increasing investigations and prosecutions related to money laundering and terrorist financing.
South Africa, also added in 2023, completed an action plan covering risk‑based supervision, enhanced law‑enforcement capabilities, improved seizure and confiscation of illicit assets and implemented targeted financial sanctions for terrorist financing.
Together, these reforms addressed the key deficiencies identified by FATF, paving the way for broader financial-system confidence.
Grey list exit boosts gambling safety
According to FATF, these reforms allowed all four countries to substantially address the deficiencies and facilitated their removal in late October 2025
The delisting may benefit operators in the gambling or sports betting sectors. Countries on the grey list are often perceived as higher risk, which can affect cross-border transactions, mobile and online betting operations and investment opportunities. Improved financial-system credibility could create a more supportive environment for operators, provided they maintain robust AML, know-your-customer (KYC) and responsible gaming measures.
FATF emphasises that exiting the grey list is not the end of reform. Sustained compliance, enforcement and cooperation with regional FATF-style bodies remain essential to ensure continued financial-system integrity.
The removal of Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Nigeria and South Africa from FATF’s grey list marks a milestone in regulatory reform across Africa. For the gambling and sports-betting industries, it signals a potentially more reliable and secure financial environment while underscoring the importance of ongoing compliance and oversight.
