Online casino operators are fuelling the increase in cyber crime by making it easy to “cash in”, according to McAfee.
In a new report about money laundering through online gambling, McAfee allege that the websites have become hotbeds of criminal activity, which not only fuel money laundering, but allow criminals to hide their illicit gains from the police.
This is enabled by the anonymity users can enjoy, as in some instances, gamblers are not even required to give any personal information when logging into sites. This is as well as various payment methods including bank wire transfers, payment gateways and player-to-player transfers which make the whole business of tracking money trails much more complex.
McAfee say that the sheer number of online casinos is so great that it is difficult for local authorities to monitor them, let alone police specific activity. As of November 2013 there were approximately 104 international jurisdictions that regulated a total of 2,734 internet gambling websites (for 867 gaming-site owners). A couple of months later, 47 of those 2,734 gambling sites were deemed ‘rogue’ and not trustworthy.
Raj Samani, CTO EMEA at McAfee and co-author of the report, said: “Knowingly or unknowingly, online casino operators are fuelling the increase in cyber crime by making it easy to ‘cash in’ on crimes perpetrated. As online casinos grow in popularity – with more games, more access options and more transaction methods – operators are often left unaware to the greater opportunities being provided to would-be, opportunistic criminals who are able to hide their illicit gains from the prying eyes of global law enforcement.
“The odds may appear to be stacked in favour of the cyber criminal, but operators shouldn’t fold or shut up shop just yet. With a strong online law enforcement capability – reinforced by partnerships and collaborations between cross-border authorities, law enforcement, ISPs, internet security companies, academia and financial institutions – the online gambling industry can prevent cyber criminals from hitting the jackpot and getting away with it. Awareness of the situation is the first step, action comes next. Now we’ve shed light on the situation at hand, it comes down to working together in order to shut these activities down and call the cyber criminal’s bluff.”
Troels Oerting, the Head of the European Cybercrime Centre, said: “Today, money flows inside and between countries, regions and globally at lightning speed, which is a necessity in our global interconnected world. Taking advantage of this, more and more cyber criminals are turning to cyber space to seize a new ‘business opportunity’ with endless income and limited risk. Cyber crime also presents the ability to be unidentifiable on the dark net and on stealthy services.”
