Ireland Cracks Down on Money Laundering in Gambling Sector

Ireland is strengthening its anti-money laundering (AML) controls for the gambling sector as part of its first national AML strategy. The country's AML framework has been updated to make transactions easier to trace and reduce opportunities for criminal funds to be moved through unrelated payment channels.

Under the new approach, gambling operators will need to return withdrawals to the same account used to make deposits. This measure aims to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing by making it harder to conceal the source of funds.

Cryptocurrency transactions in the sector will also come under tighter scrutiny, with gambling businesses accepting digital assets expected to conduct enhanced due diligence on the source of funds. Crypto transfers will require identifying information for both the sender and recipient.

The measures are part of Ireland's 2026 National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Proliferation Financing. The government aims to strengthen intelligence sharing between law enforcement agencies and financial institutions where money laundering is suspected.