The fight against money laundering

Like all of us, you have heard about the fight against money laundering, but without really knowing what it is about. In its own definition, money laundering is one of the techniques of financial crime. The principle is simple in appearance. It is a question of concealing the origin of funds collected illegally, in order to legally reintegrate it into the financial circuit and, of course, to make it profitable.

This so-called bleaching step is essential. It is she who makes it possible to be able to reuse these funds with complete "impunity". Money laundering is carried out in three stages. These three phases are commonly called pre-washing, stirring and spinning. Discover all this thanks to our guide .

Legal obligations

In Canada, as everywhere else in the world, the fight against money laundering is one of the fundamental objectives of the government. As a result, large financial transactions are usually scrutinized by accredited authorities. Bookmakers, whether online or terrestrial, do not escape this rule. It is part of their legal obligations to report any suspicious activities to the government of the country and to take, if necessary, upstream the necessary actions.

One goal, multiple possibilities

Previously, money laundering for sports betting could be carried out in a very simple way. At a bookmaker, the procedure for laundering funds is quite basic. Indeed, a launderer arrives with funds. He will then bet the desired amount on the favorite of the match, or on the different outcomes of the meeting or even on the highest odds.

Depending on his or her choice of bets, the risks will be more or less significant. If he chooses, for example, to bet on the favorite, his chances of winning will be less. However, its success rate in terms of whitening is very high since most of the time, this bet will prove to be a winner. After this bet, he will be able to justify the origin of this money to a third party and this sum, previously "dirty", will be considered as "clean".

This reputation as an intermediary no longer has to be

Whether online or hard, controls and measures have been significantly strengthened over the past few years. It has become very difficult to consider a sports betting site as a money laundering intermediary. On the hard side, the controls have become extremely tough, cash payments are very closely monitored, earnings checks are becoming more frequent... Online, most sports betting sites are certainly located in tax havens. However, although having a more flexible law with regard to financial aspects, internal verifications (Identities, transactions...) are such that it is fortunately very difficult to launder money there.