PAGCOR orders casinos to strengthen AML controls after high-risk assessment
The regulator has instructed casino operators and gaming service providers to reinforce their AML and counter-terrorism financing frameworks.
The Philippines.- The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has ordered all licensed casino operators and gaming service providers to review and strengthen their anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) controls. The instruction follows the findings of its latest Casino Sector Risk Assessment.
Covering the period from 2021 to 2024, the assessment classified the casino sector as high risk for money laundering and medium to medium-high risk for terrorism financing. PAGCOR attributed the money laundering risk to large cash transactions, high-risk customers and intermediaries, multi-channel operations and uneven implementation of compliance controls.
The regulator identified both land-based casinos and electronic gaming operations as vulnerable. Land-based venues were considered particularly exposed due to their cash-intensive nature, foreign patronage and VIP and junket activity, while electronic gaming faces risks linked to its rapid growth, high transaction volumes and remote operations.
PAGCOR has instructed operators to strengthen customer due diligence, source-of-funds verification, transaction monitoring and suspicious transaction reporting and to ensure the assessment is shared with directors, senior management, compliance officers and frontline staff.
Although no confirmed terrorism financing cases involving PAGCOR-regulated casinos were identified during the review, the regulator warned that the sector remains exposed to proceeds from crimes. PAGCOR said it will assess operators’ implementation of new measures, with inadequate compliance potentially leading to administrative sanctions.
