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  3. The 2026 money laundering and terrorist financing risks within the British gambling industry

Guidance

The 2026 money laundering and terrorist financing risks within the British gambling industry

The Gambling Commission's money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessment of the British gambling industry for 2026.

Published
30 July 2026

Last updated
30 July 2026 - Changes

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  1. Contents
  2. 4 - Regulatory framework

4 - Regulatory framework

Gambling operators must ensure they comply with the relevant legislation, and the regulatory licence conditions and codes of practice. These are:

Further information can be found within our anti-money laundering (AML) legislation page.

It is mandatory for all gambling operators to comply with the licensing objective of keeping crime and its proceeds out of gambling, as set out in The Gambling Act 2005 (the Act) (opens new tab) and the LCCP.

Furthermore, all gambling operators have legal duties under the  Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) and the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT) (opens in a new tab) to mitigate financial crime.

Operators are required to adopt a risk-based approach tailored to their own business model in discharging their legal obligations, which focuses compliance effort where it is most needed and will therefore have the most impact. It requires the full commitment and support of senior management and the active co-operation of all employees.

For further information regarding the steps gambling operators should take in applying a risk-based approach, please see our guidance on the prevention of money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (casino operators) and our guidance on duties and responsibilities under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (all other operators).

In line with Licence Condition 12.1.1, gambling operators are required to have AML and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) policies, procedures and controls in place and ensure that they are implemented effectively, kept under review, revised appropriately to ensure that they remain effective, and take into account any applicable learning or guidelines published by the Commission from time to time.

The Regulations also require casino operators to risk assess and mitigate proliferation financing. Proliferation financing is defined as:

"The act of providing funds or financial services for use (in whole or in part) in the manufacture, acquisition, development, export, trans-shipment, brokering, transport, transfer, stockpiling of, or otherwise in connection with the possession or use of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons, including the provision of funds or financial services in connection with the means of delivery of such weapons and other Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN)-related goods and technology1, in contravention of a relevant financial sanctions obligation2."

For further information on what casinos are required to do in relation to proliferation financing, please refer to the Commission’s casino guidance.

Gambling operators are also required to comply with financial sanctions legislation. For further information on how to comply with the sanctions requirements, please refer to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation guidance (opens in new tab).

References

1 The meaning of 'biological weapon', 'chemical weapon', 'CBRN-related goods and technology', 'nuclear weapon' and 'radiological weapon' are set out in regulation 16A(10).

2 A relevant financial sanctions obligation is a prohibition or requirement in regulations made under section 1 of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (opens in new tab)  and imposed for one or more of the purposes in section 3(1) and (2) of the Act so far as it relates to compliance with a relevant United Nations (UN) obligation.

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2026 money laundering and risks - Methodology
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