The online gambling market in Sweden is vulnerable and at a "high" risk of money laundering, according to a multi-agency review of AML standards published by the country's National Police Office (NPA).
In a comprehensive review of the country's financial sector standards, the NPA suggested that the high rates, profit potential and high turnover of operators could create a "relatively attractive" environment for money laundering.
“Money can also be laundered quickly as gaming companies offer fast transactions and quick registration of new gaming accounts,” the report says.
“Despite existing control systems, it is natural that the risk increases in operations with a large number of transactions and high turnover.
“There is also a risk that people will create gambling companies in order to launder money from the criminal business. These schemes are in danger of becoming increasingly sophisticated and difficult to detect.
“The ownership structure of gaming companies can be very complex if the parent company may be located in countries outside the EU, and the principals are difficult to identify and protect,” the report added.
The NPA suggested that the operator's ability to track player funds that may have been fraudulently obtained is generally positive, but the ability to use player accounts to deposit funds from various sources hinders the tracking process.
The researchers highlighted the ability of Swedish-licensed operators to use bank accounts outside the EU as a potential barrier to tracking fraudulent funds.
Many of Sweden's largest banks refuse to accept accounts from gambling companies due to the increased risk of AML.
In March, Mr Green's parent operator William Hill filed a complaint with the Swedish authorities after the Swedish bank SEB issued a notice that it was closing the firm's corporate bank account due to these risks.
“It is difficult for operators and criminal investigators to understand and detect the chain of transactions, from the moment the money is deposited into the account, into the gaming account and then back to the bank account,” the NPA report says.
“All games must be in Swedish krona, but the money runs the risk of rapidly changing shape when depositing and withdrawing from a player account,” the report says.
The survey covered 24 different sectors of the Swedish financial industry, including banking and real estate.
It has been co-authored by several high-level agencies and regulators, including the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA), the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority and the Swedish Public Prosecutor's Office.
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