Have some people used casinos to hide the origin of funds?

[mirakal]

It is been known and many news citing that some casinos have been used as a tool for illegal activities like money laundering and this is the main reason why the government asked them to impose KYC. But despite the aggressive action of the government and the continuous implementation of the law still, some people are doing the same.
https://complyadvantage.com/insights/understanding-money-laundering-in-casinos/

And even in trading platforms, it also happens. I see that the implementation of KYC makes sense. Although it never stops entirely, at least it freezes some accounts and minimizes illegal activities.

[EarnOnVictor]

It is true that nowadays, there are several restrictions imposed by the casino due to AML/KYC laws, but in the beginning, that didn't exist (online-casinos).

There have certainly been cases where people have used casinos (and even exchanges) to hide/shuffle the origin of funds, 'cause when you deposit crypto on a platform, your link to the platform's address ends and when you go to withdraw, you withdraw funds from different origin (from other customers). Unless the platform keeps deposit/withdrawal logs of all user operations and provides them to authorities when requested.

This can be done even by people who have no intention of doing so. But that's the nature of cryptocurrencies, so like it or not, it's difficult for authorities to track the funds (even if the person isn't doing anything outside of their country's tax laws).

What was happening was never good and I feel for those who would have been the victim of the money that was easily laundered by that careless arrangement. In normal circumstances, there is no way a casino or any other reasonable establishment should allow withdrawal to another account/address even if the government is not looking. But for their bad intentions or insensitivity from the beginning, they allowed it so that as their customers are doing it, they will be able to launder money for their persons of interest as well, including them.

Even now, they are only trying to please the regulators, many casinos are still doing the money laundering thing for themselves and for others, only that they have their ways to cover up for that. If exchanges could be caught in this act, how many more casinos that have weaker regulation? I hope you can extract your answer from that, however in a plain term, money laundry and bad transactional intentions will happen that time, but certainly would have reduced now.

[Fiatless]

It is been known and many news citing that some casinos have been used as a tool for illegal activities like money laundering and this is the main reason why the government asked them to impose KYC. But despite the aggressive action of the government and the continuous implementation of the law still, some people are doing the same.
https://complyadvantage.com/insights/understanding-money-laundering-in-casinos/

And even in trading platforms, it also happens. I see that the implementation of KYC makes sense. Although it never stops entirely, at least it freezes some accounts and minimizes illegal activities.

Casinos are currently the worst place to engage in concealing illegal funds because most of them require KYC. Before I joined the crypto industry I heard that these casinos never required any form of KYC verification and that one can easily deposit huge amounts and withdraw them at will. Maybe the government discovered that these crypto casinos have become an avenue to clean tainted funds. This is why casinos have out in place stringent KYC rules. This might be also why casinos mandate gamblers to wager all their initial deposits before withdrawals.

I once thought of using casinos to clean my money when I got campaign payment from a mixer that was seized by the government. But it became clear that I didn't need to do that since I had nothing to worry about. Some people might be using casinos to clean tainted funds but since there are other means of doing it, casinos should be the least option. Using casinos to conceal illegal activities could lead to loss of funds because these casinos can easily cooperate with the government.

[mindrust]

 You can do this that with casinos or other businesses which demand no kyc. Some exchanges still don’t require KYC (like eXch) but their time is limited imo. You can also use a real decentralized exchange like bisq if you want to get rid of your tainted coins.

If you still decide to use a casino, make sure that you can withdraw your coins safely. If the casino mentioned KYC in its ToS (and there isn’t any casino that doesn’t nowadays) then they can ask for docs anytime even though they don’t normally do it. That’s a big risk to take. If they think the origin of your funds look questionable or the amount is too big, then they may do that. Then you can say goodbye to your funds.

[ethereumhunter]

It is not easy to hide the origin of funds now because people needs to verify their account in the casino. The casino can asks people to submit their document to verify their members account because casino doesn't wants to gets any problem. Even if we use crypto to playing gambling, some casino will asks you to do KYC, especially when people wants to withdraw their money.

But if people must verify their account in the beginning after they register, people can't do anything and must follows that rules. The authorities can asks the documents from the casino that explain many things about their members. From that documents, the authorities can checks and knows where the origins of funds so the authorities can do something if the money is from the illegal sources. People must be careful to submits their documents to the casino and make sure that the casino is safe and can take care the document.

[satscraper]

I have made a quick research and found that    it is estimated that  ~ $140 billion per year  is laundered through casinos. It worth to remember that AML regulation  obliged  casinos "to establish systems and processes to monitor customer transactions and identify suspicious patterns or activities."  Again according to that research the major topology of laundering scheme via casinos include FOBTs (fixed-odds betting terminals), conversion of illegal money into casinos' chips the purpose being to cash out the latter after gaming, organization of underground gaming etc..

[rodskee]

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There have certainly been cases where people have used casinos (and even exchanges) to hide/shuffle the origin of funds, 'cause when you deposit crypto on a platform, your link to the platform's address ends and when you go to withdraw, you withdraw funds from different origin (from other customers). Unless the platform keeps deposit/withdrawal logs of all user operations and provides them to authorities when requested.

this is not totally unheard of in fact many organized crimes use casinos mainly to hide their money laundering schemes there is a reason why casinos are often seen with malicious intent instead of just pure entertainment place

a lot of organized crimes tend to build their own casinos and this is where they let the money circulate

[MainIbem]

I think lots of bad actors used those gambling platforms to launder and hide fraudulent money and that prompted the casino/gambling platforms to come up with different policies especially the KYC, that would help reveal the identity of those that carry out illegal activities with their platforms, well not everyone would be impressed with the KYC policy cause some people get affected by it when they win a jackpot or huge money and go through a long process to get their profits, but they should understand that those rules are being laid down by those platforms to protect their company from being used as a tool for money laundering or other illegal activities, so far you can prove your identity and origin of funds then you're good to go, well I understand that sometimes the process is very stressful due to poor customer services by most platforms and that's why most people are not impressed about the KYC policy. However, it's not a bad idea.

[alani123]

Even with KYC & AML laws casinos, exchanges and any centralized service for that matter can be used to circumvent tracking and hide the origin of funds. KYC makes it harder to do it without being identified but those that have money have enough power to get as many accounts as needed in other people's names. So it's not going to be a problem.

For instance, a criminal entity or a state sponsored terrorist will be able to issue as many passports to whatever name necessary. KYC solutions don't tend to check biometric data and generally don't directly verify the validity of data as they don't have access to state data.

So I would say that any centralized platform could be used for hiding and obscuring the origin of funds. Ofc this platform could report where the funds originated to the authorities if asked, but it might be too late as the Blockchain trail is lost. In the end of the day though, casinos are the least of any government's problems when exchanges and centralized wallet services have the largest volumes.

[Mia Chloe]

It is true that nowadays, there are several restrictions imposed by the casino due to AML/KYC laws, but in the beginning, that didn't exist (online-casinos).

There have certainly been cases where people have used casinos (and even exchanges) to hide/shuffle the origin of funds, 'cause when you deposit crypto on a platform, your link to the platform's address ends and when you go to withdraw, you withdraw funds from different origin (from other customers). Unless the platform keeps deposit/withdrawal logs of all user operations and provides them to authorities when requested.

This can be done even by people who have no intention of doing so. But that's the nature of cryptocurrencies, so like it or not, it's difficult for authorities to track the funds (even if the person isn't doing anything outside of their country's tax laws).

The fact is when people make money via illegal means, they'll definitely look for a reasonable way to cover up their tracks. Making use of cryptocurrencies is currently one way people use most of the time to cover their tracks on funded they acquired illegally. Most of the time some agencies in some countries just take a break off most of such investigations especially in cases where the funds aren't a big deal.

People who make use of casinos for such purpose usually do so with inter geographical casinos that have a wide span and accept strictly crypto. The reason they hardly make use of their regular country's casinos especially physical ones is because a majority they make use of fiat which is easier to trace compared to cryptocurrencies.

[Cantsay]

This can be done even by people who have no intention of doing so. But that's the nature of cryptocurrencies, so like it or not, it's difficult for authorities to track the funds (even if the person isn't doing anything outside of their country's tax laws).

This is the reason why you’d see some casino operators making it mandatory that all deposits are to be wagered for a specific number of time. - so that users won’t just make deposits and instantly withdraw it to a different address without having to play or risk it but if there are requirements that would make them risk the money they are to launder they would have to reconsider and use a different method.

I don’t know much about this but casinos have been actively trying to battle this type of money movement - they have been trying to restrict withdrawal in accounts that look suspicious or have activity that resembles money laundering.

[bakasabo]

This can be done even by people who have no intention of doing so. But that's the nature of cryptocurrencies, so like it or not, it's difficult for authorities to track the funds (even if the person isn't doing anything outside of their country's tax laws).

This is the reason why you’d see some casino operators making it mandatory that all deposits are to be wagered for a specific number of time. - so that users won’t just make deposits and instantly withdraw it to a different address without having to play or risk it but if there are requirements that would make them risk the money they are to launder they would have to reconsider and use a different method.

I don’t know much about this but casinos have been actively trying to battle this type of money movement - they have been trying to restrict withdrawal in accounts that look suspicious or have activity that resembles money laundering.

Does such rule and wish to mix funds with casino funds via deposit/withdrawal really work? User deposit to a specific address all the time, he get withdrawal from a bunch of accounts only. Casinos account address are only one more address in chain. All the addresses are transparent anyway. And it is not hard to generate one address for every user, and bind it on him only. I doubt that anything is mixing properly with deposit/withdrawal through casinos.

[Mr. Magkaisa]

It is true that nowadays, there are several restrictions imposed by the casino due to AML/KYC laws, but in the beginning, that didn't exist (online-casinos).

There have certainly been cases where people have used casinos (and even exchanges) to hide/shuffle the origin of funds, 'cause when you deposit crypto on a platform, your link to the platform's address ends and when you go to withdraw, you withdraw funds from different origin (from other customers). Unless the platform keeps deposit/withdrawal logs of all user operations and provides them to authorities when requested.

This can be done even by people who have no intention of doing so. But that's the nature of cryptocurrencies, so like it or not, it's difficult for authorities to track the funds (even if the person isn't doing anything outside of their country's tax laws).

            -   I haven't tried that yet, OP, but your OP looks like you've tried to do it, right? Also, I don't often win at gambling, so the only thing that often happens is that I put money into the casino without withdrawing from it because I won playing gambling.

Maybe for those who often win a lot of money in gambling, they do it so that they don't get questioned when it comes to the bank accounts they have, in my opinion.
Though, I agreed that this is cycle ecosystem of the cryptocurrency where we are in.

[Solosanz]

Blockchain is completely transparent, except you're using private coins like Monero, Zcash etc, saying cryptocurrency use casino, DEX, or anything to hide origin of funds aren't entirely correct.

The banks or government can trace the origin of funds, but they will stuck after they found out you're using DEX, mixer etc. When they know you're using DEX or mixer, the next step is they're might likely ask your transactions history in that DEX or asking the reason why you use mixer.

[_act_]

Does such rule and wish to mix funds with casino funds via deposit/withdrawal really work? User deposit to a specific address all the time, he get withdrawal from a bunch of accounts only. Casinos account address are only one more address in chain. All the addresses are transparent anyway. And it is not hard to generate one address for every user, and bind it on him only. I doubt that anything is mixing properly with deposit/withdrawal through casinos.

Do you know that a coin can be traced to a mixer? It is also possible that a transaction can be traced to a conjoin. Coins can be traced to an exchange and also can be traced to a gambling site. This is because the blockchain is transparent. If you mix a coin, it means you block its trace to something. If you are using a casino that does not require KYC, transactions there can not be linked to your real identity and it is a kind of mixing by blocking the trace to something. But what if it is a centralized casino seized the money or the casino forced the person to do KYC. Also that casinos has rules. It can be that a gamble should gamble and win 2x before they can withdraw. Gambling site with no KYC can be used for mixing but not a good idea at all. It is a bad idea because the money can be lost.

[beerlover]

There have certainly been cases where people have used casinos (and even exchanges) to hide/shuffle the origin of funds, 'cause when you deposit crypto on a platform, your link to the platform's address ends and when you go to withdraw, you withdraw funds from different origin (from other customers). Unless the platform keeps deposit/withdrawal logs of all user operations and provides them to authorities when requested.

Long back itself, I read some casinos and exchanges were rejecting the shady resource based incoming funds. But, people who opted not to be traced down by their coins, might have used casinos for breaking the the continuation of their blockchain traces. But, at the same time, when some other user getting that fund and traced by authorities then they will bring the casino into the scene. This is why casinos are too strict on KYC policies now. I agree that there might have some people used casinos for that purposes and also long time gap might have saved the actual person who withdrew those dirty coins.

This can be done even by people who have no intention of doing so. But that's the nature of cryptocurrencies, so like it or not, it's difficult for authorities to track the funds

Usually tax authorities need the answers of 'how'. When we open the source details, I believe everything will be solved. If a casino pays a person with hacked coins then they are answerable for accepting and holding such coins.

[Davidvictorson]

It is true that nowadays, there are several restrictions imposed by the casino due to AML/KYC laws, but in the beginning, that didn't exist (online-casinos).

I haven't done any research yet but I can say that there's some truth to this. Laws exist because people can take advantage of the system. If there no money laundering that was happening on daily basis and criminal elements inventing novel ways to move dirty money, then there would not have been a need to have the "Anti-money-laundering" laws. And these laws are getting stricter because if you are a user resident in a certain region, your access to the online casino may be restricted for reasons best known to them.

This can be done even by people who have no intention of doing so. But that's the nature of cryptocurrencies, so like it or not, it's difficult for authorities to track the funds (even if the person isn't doing anything outside of their country's tax laws).

Despite this, it is still difficult for the money laundering to stop. It may have been reduced and discouraged but criminals will find other means. For example in my country, money laundering is done through , foreign exchange, real estate, NGOs and other means.

[bitterguy28]

If you still decide to use a casino, make sure that you can withdraw your coins safely. If the casino mentioned KYC in its ToS (and there isn’t any casino that doesn’t nowadays) then they can ask for docs anytime even though they don’t normally do it. That’s a big risk to take. If they think the origin of your funds look questionable or the amount is too big, then they may do that. Then you can say goodbye to your funds.

there’s also some minimum or limits to how much you can deposit and withdraw so that is yet another thing to consider if you want to use casinos for such things. crypto exchanges that are centralized are pretty much the same you cannot withdraw until you hit a specific amount and even then they may question your funds

[Viscore]

This is why KYC is implemented in a casino because, if not, money laundering would be easily done by criminals. Aside from mixers, casinos are one way to clean funds, or what we call laundering. The government knows about this and has very strict policies that we need to follow. However, some casinos are even abusing these rules in their favor. They use the KYC requirement to scam gamblers, which is why we need to choose the right casino—a casino with a good reputation.

[erep]

This is why KYC is implemented in a casino because, if not, money laundering would be easily done by criminals. Aside from mixers, casinos are one way to clean funds, or what we call laundering. The government knows about this and has very strict policies that we need to follow. However, some casinos are even abusing these rules in their favor. They use the KYC requirement to scam gamblers, which is why we need to choose the right casino—a casino with a good reputation.

There are many real issues that need to be reviewed regarding the application of KYC requirements to gambling, because the application of KYC can be exploited by casinos with bad reputations to collect a lot of user data. I think the solution to this problem must be an official site or list from the government that indexes officially registered casino gambling sites following regulatory requirements, so users no longer need to worry about providing KYC data at casinos that have been officially verified by the government.