Ireland’s Minister for Finance, Simon Harris, is preparing new anti-money laundering rules that will place tighter obligations on the gambling industry, particularly around payment controls and source-of-funds checks.
The measures are part of what the government describes as Ireland’s first comprehensive anti-money laundering strategy. The initiative follows the “2026 National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Proliferation Financing and its associated Priority Action Implementation Plan”.
The Department of Finance described the strategy as the “most significant strengthening of Ireland’s financial crime framework in years”. Also the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland has been identified as one of the national partners “within the core” of the country’s AML and counter-financing of terrorism framework.
The department said obliged entities, including banks, payment institutions and gambling service providers, “act as the first line of defence against money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing”.
Gambling operators face new source-of-funds and payment requirements
The strategy introduces specific requirements for gambling businesses. One is the creation of an industry standard for crypto-related source-of-funds checks. The department said “an industry standard will be established relating to the acceptance of crypto-related activities as a source of funds to ensure appropriate due diligence is performed, and the legitimacy of the funds are verified”.
Operators will also be expected to introduce what the government describes as “a closed loop system”. Under this model, withdrawals would be returned through the same payment account used to deposit funds, reducing opportunities for gambling accounts to be used for moving money between payment sources.
Casino clubs operating machine-based gambling will face tighter oversight. The department said “casino clubs operating machine-based gambling will be brought under a more robust regulatory framework, with stricter enforcement of license conditions and anti-money laundering obligations”.
Ireland widens AML controls beyond gambling and financial services
The wider strategy will also strengthen rules covering crypto assets and transfers, implement the European Union’s AML legislative package and increase transparency around company ownership.
The government said these changes are intended to make it harder for criminals to “hide behind complex corporate structures”. Ireland also plans to improve its ability to detect cyber-enabled fraud, sanctions evasion and other emerging financial crime risks.
Supervision of financial institutions will be strengthened plus oversight of sectors considered “particularly vulnerable to money laundering, including gambling”.
Implementation is already underway across government and regulators
Harris said implementation of the strategy has started and will involve cooperation between public authorities and the private sector.
“Implementation of the Strategy is already underway and will be delivered through close cooperation between Government departments, law enforcement agencies, regulators and the private sector,” Harris stated.
These changes signal more standardised controls around payments, crypto-related funds and customer transactions for gambling operators, with the GRAI central to the enforcement structure.
Ireland’s AML strategy points to a more operational form of gambling regulation, with payment flows, crypto sources and withdrawal controls at the centre of compliance. The closed-loop requirement could become one of the key practical changes for operators because it directly limits how gambling accounts can be used to move funds.
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