Illegal sports gambling could approach US $ 1.7 trillion annually and is often used by criminals to launder money, according to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
The estimate makes the legal sports betting market, which is hovering around $ 40 billion, look tiny, according to the report released Thursday.
The increasing number and types of gambling are complicating the efforts of law enforcement agencies to combat illegal gambling, as is the proliferation of rogue online operators using cryptocurrencies to cover up the gambler.
Illegal gambling robs sport of its positive and transformative power, according to the report, jeopardizing its ability to teach and inspire young people.
“In our increasingly globalized world, sport is exposed to complex risks posed by corrupt figures who seek to exploit it for illicit profits.”He said in his introduction to the report Ghada Wally, executive director of the office.
The report concludes that both governments, regulators and governing bodies of sport must work together to combat illegal gambling, establishing controls and units against money laundering.
The solutions should include requirements for operators to record customer information and betting data, as well as a ban on anonymous payment processing platforms.
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