Isle of Man updates AML guidance for operators

The Isle of Man’s Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) announced of the updates for anti-money laundering (AML) guidance related to operators. The update places greater emphasis on business-to-business relationships, corporate structures and ownership transparency. The guidance was published on November 10. It highlights how criminals could exploit complex commercial arrangements to move money through the gambling industry. However, the update is not introducing new legal requirements, but clarifies existing expectations. Updated guidance highlights B2B risks The revised guidance have concentrated on relations between operators, software suppliers, technology providers and companies belonging to the same corporate group. Such relationships complicate beneficial ownership identification, as well as tracing the flow of money and spotting suspicious activities. The update comes as a result of the Isle of Man’s 2026 gambling sector money laundering risk assessment published in February. The assessment pointed out that online operators and B2B software providers could be potential targets of organised crime groups, especially those from East and Southeast Asia. It has noted the risks of cross-border payments, non-transparent ownership structure and limited visibility of companies and persons using gambling technologies. The assessment identified the Isle of Man gambling sector as medium-high risk for money laundering. Online gambling has been named a significant source of risk due to its wide range of clients, huge volume of transactions, and distanced registration process. The update, however, characterized land-based gambling as medium-low risk, since it deals with customers exclusively in the Isle of Man. The guidance take into consideration the 2025-2026 National Risk Assessment of the Isle of Man that studied the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing. The GSC is also preparing updated guidance for gambling software suppliers, online operators authorised to provide network services, and businesses handling virtual assets and goods.