The UIF (Financial Intelligence Unit of the Bank of Italy) recently published its Anti-Money Laundering Report, covering data from the first half of 2017.

According to the data reported, in the first half of 2017, 1.075 suspicious transactions were reported by gaming operators, a 5,3% decrease compared to the same period in 2016 (1.169). This slight decrease is most likely due to the lower number of reports related to voluntary disclosure operations.

In any case, the spotlight is firmly on the gaming and betting sector. Gambling is considered a high-risk sector for money laundering due to the use of cash and goods such as gold, diamonds, and works of art transferred through informal mechanisms and counterfeit currency.

In the Notebook, the UIF recalls that with Legislative Decree No. 90 of 25 May 2017, which implements the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, the list of entities required to comply with anti-money laundering obligations has been expanded: virtual currency exchangers—which will be listed in a special section of the currency exchange register—and European intermediaries established without a branch in Italy have been included.

The Anti-Money Laundering Notebook for the first half of 2017 is available here.