American Gaming Association beefs up anti-money laundering policies

The American Gaming Association (AGA) is working to beef up its voluntary guidelines meant to thwart money laundering in casinos of all kinds. It’s an effort whose importance was inadvertently underscored by a recent case in which the Hawaiian Gardens card room in California was fined $3.1 million for failing to catch exactly that kind of activity.
While the AGA does not have any legal authority over its members, the new guidelines are considered to be “best practices” for gaming operators who want to stay ahead of improprieties of all kinds. The new guidelines are highlighted in an AGA-produced memo that’s titled, “Best Practices for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Compliance” and was created in cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
The AGA is quick, however, to point out that a gaming industry trade group guideline is not a one-size-fits-all solution to a problem that’s plagued casinos since time eternal. “AML programs are risk-based, and casinos have different risk profiles, so individual casinos will have good reasons for departing from or modifying a procedure in this document, or for developing supplemental or alternative procedures, including appropriate approvals and documentation of decision-making,” they said in an online announcement.
As a whole, the guidelines are about what you would expect and are designed to keep gaming operations in line with the law wherever they happen to be located. Specific guidelines suggest that casinos flag large transactions and stay in compliance with laws requiring the filing of suspicious activity reports (SARs) when warranted. The guidelines also push gaming operators to use digital transactions whenever possible.