I recently read an article in the Telegraph that said that according to security analysts, terrorist networks use online gambling websites to launder money for attacks.  Being interested in anything to do with the Internet or online companies for that matter, I decided it was worth doing some research on the subject.

Here are some interesting facts that I found which I thought would be of interest to online companies in Gibraltar which may or may not already be aware:

• Online Gambling websites can be used to launder money by transferring illegal funds to an inside source and by playing until the target amount is spent.
• By programming online gaming software to identify certain passwords or usernames and to automatically deduct a percentage of the deposit amount and disguise it as a gaming loss.
• An online gambling employee could arrange to transfer illegal funds to a gambler by rigging the game until the targeted amount is won.

Other tricks that online gambling companies should look out for is to open an account under a false name with the online company and deposit the illegal funds. Then so that the online administrators do not suspect any dodgy play, they deliberately lose a few games and then request the account be close and withdraw the balance.

Another method that could be used is to open several online gambling accounts in various jurisdictions and deposit the maximum amount in each account and as above after a few losses withdraw the balance and transfer the remainder of the funds to a credit institution or back as legitimate winnings.