Casinos have been around for hundreds of years. During all of that time, their legal status has fluctuated based on public sentiment and cultural/religious influence. The freedom to game without fear of regulation—provided that you are a consenting adult—is largely a consequence of 20th-century thinking.
It was then that Las Vegas went from being a dusty patch of land in the desert to a thriving tourist destination that generated billions in tax revenue each year.
From that moment in the 1930s, when clever minds in Nevada thought “When life gives you lemons make Caesar’s Palace,” till now gambling laws have changed many times. However, the overall trajectory has been to make regulations more permissive. What is the state of casino regulations in 2025?
Preventing Money Laundering in Casinos
AML stands for “Anti-money laundering.” Historically, criminals have used casinos as a way to “clean their money.” If this all sounds very Breaking Bad or Ozark to you, that’s because it sort of is.
It was through tax fraud that they finally managed to nab Capone. And while this always comes across as a little funny (the only things that are inevitable in life are death and taxes?) it actually makes good sense. If you live in a five thousand-square-foot house but have no reported income, it will raise some pretty clear red flags for the IRS.
So bad guys “clean” their money by making sure they can attribute it to a legitimate source. One such source is casino winnings. They buy chips – sometimes through multiple transactions and exchanges. They then make wagers and cash out their chips at the end of the night as profits.
It ultimately doesn’t really matter if they won or lost though. They now have an income source that won’t read “robbed a bank” on their tax return.
Modern casinos must maintain strict AML compliance to prevent their establishments from being used for money laundering. This includes tracking large transactions and reporting suspicious patterns of behavior.
What casinos do to prevent laundering:
Casinos are legally required to monitor potential laundering behavior in a way similar to financial institutions. This, thanks to their classification as “designated non-financial businesses and professions” by the FATF.
If that sounds like a long string of words you don’t want to remember, that’s fine. Just know that casinos are legally obligated to look for signs of money laundering and prevent it from happening.
The basic requirements hinge along the axiom of “due diligence.” Casinos are legally required to monitor all of their transactions and flag unusual betting behaviors that resemble laundering behavior.
They are also meant to document the identities of anyone doing large-volume transactions and provide that information to the IRS. This creates a paper trail that helps prevent criminals from using casinos to legitimize illegal funds.
Modern casinos use sophisticated tracking systems to monitor player behavior. They must report any suspicious patterns or transactions over $10,000 to federal authorities.
These requirements apply to both traditional and online casinos. Digital gambling platforms must maintain the same level of transaction monitoring and identity verification as their brick-and-mortar counterparts.
iGaming Regulations
iGaming regulations are tricky to pin down because they are EXTREMELY regionally specific. In the United States, online casino legality typically depends on where you live. Websites will often automatically be blocked when you try to log on in a state where online gaming is not permitted.
Players often get around this by using VPN hosting services. They might also use crypto casinos as a way of getting around overly fussy banks.
In Europe, the rules are similarly subject to fluctuation. Every country takes its own, varied approach.
At the most basic level, online casinos are required to verify the age and identity of players. That’s why when you make a new account you may be required to send photo identification and have pictures of yourself taken by the computer. It’s so thorough you might almost feel like you were applying for a loan.
These regulatory requirements are often met with groans on the part of honest players who are neither twelve-year-olds trying to participate in illicit gaming nor Tony Soprano types with a bag of bills that need to be cleaned.
However, it is important to remember that it is through these safe checks that gambling can be done safely. It’s by accepting a small amount of friction on the front end that you are granted a safe and enjoyable experience as you dive deeper into the service.
If you prefer sports betting, you should also make sure to check the regulations in your country or state.
You want to play at places like TwinSpires where rules and regulations are taken seriously. You can check the Kentucky Derby prep races here and bet safely on horse racing without any concerns: https://www.twinspires.com/kentuckyderby/road-to-the-derby/
It’s through this that you can enjoy a smooth overall experience. And you know the old saying, right? Come for the compliance, stay for the fun games and sweet new player bonuses.
in our content guidelines “dont’s” list it says we can’t talk about casino regulations in different countries. Rewrite the topic.
