The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said it will act against illegal casino operators that disguise gambling proceeds as ordinary business sales, such as payments routed through beauty salon or bakery merchant accounts1. The council made the statement to BusinessWorld in an email published on November 3, 20261.
The issue surfaced in September, when the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) flagged thousands of illegal businesses on local payment platforms, including online casinos posing as small mom-and-pop stores, according to a Bloomberg report cited by BusinessWorld1. The BSP identified several merchants processing thousands of small payments, some worth as little as P50, during the early hours of the day, which authorities later determined to be online casino bets1.
The AMLC said such schemes conceal both the operator and the source of funds, placing them outside the reporting regime that covers licensed casinos under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA)1. The law identifies only licensed physical and online casinos as covered persons required to report to the AMLC, so detection falls to banks, e-money issuers and payment operators that onboard and monitor merchants1.
"A salon that receives thousands of small payments after midnight is transacting in amounts not commensurate with its business, with no apparent economic justification."
The council declined to confirm or discuss specific reports, intelligence or investigations, citing Section 8-A of the AMLA, which requires such information be kept confidential1. It said that where such activity is detected or reported, the AMLC, together with competent authorities, will act to identify, investigate and address the risks involved1.
The Philippines was placed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gray list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring for "dirty money" risks in June 2021 and remained there for over three years, before removal in February 2025 after passing the watchdog's evaluation1. The FATF is set to reassess the country in 2027, verifying whether anti-money laundering measures are sustained and still in place1. The AMLC said the prevalence of illegal casinos alone will not determine whether the country returns to the gray list, and that assessors will examine how the system responds1.
In its latest National Risk Assessment, the AMLC said the Philippines remains under heightened threat of money laundering, while facing "medium" vulnerability to money laundering risks and "medium" risks from terrorism financing and proliferation financing1.
- Banks had medium residual vulnerability1.
- E-money issuers had medium net vulnerability, with high inherent risk moderated by regulatory oversight and improving controls1.
- The AMLC supports amendments to the AMLA to expressly designate virtual asset service providers (VASPs) as covered persons, noting that under existing provisions only BSP-supervised VASPs are covered1.
- VASPs' inherent dirty money risk is high due to the speed, cross-border reach and pseudonymous nature of virtual assets, while overall net money laundering and terrorism financing risk stands at medium-high1.
What it means for players
The AMLC's statement concerns illegal operators that take bets through payment accounts registered to unrelated small businesses, not licensed casinos. Licensed physical and online casinos in the Philippines are covered persons under the AMLA and must report to the AMLC1. Players using unlicensed sites that route payments through salon, bakery or similar merchant accounts are dealing with operators outside that reporting regime, which the AMLC said conceals both the operator and the source of funds1. The council did not say what happens to players whose payments are identified in such schemes, and no enforcement action against bettors has been reported1. General guidance on gambling scams in Asia and on gambling in the Philippines covers how unlicensed operators are structured. The BSP's September findings also involved operations that recruit workers, a pattern described in fake casino and online gambling job offers.
What happens next
The FATF is scheduled to reassess the Philippines in 20271. The AMLC said it is pushing amendments to the AMLA, including explicit designation of VASPs as covered persons; at least five Senate bills containing proposed amendments are pending before the Committee on Banks, with nine House bills before the counterpart committee, as noted by AMLC Executive Director Ronel U. Buenaventura in late September1. The AMLC did not disclose a timeline for action on specific illegal casino cases1.
