In September 2026 the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published Risks of Gaming and Gambling, its refreshed look at the sector since 2009. Within weeks, Anjouan Gaming, the body that administers internet gaming licenses for the Autonomous Island of Anjouan, said it had enhanced its license conditions and strengthened its application requirements in response.
The regulator has not published a list of the individual conditions that changed. What it has made clear is the direction: robust KYC and ongoing due diligence are, in its words, “the baseline”. This article explains what the FATF found, what that means for Anjouan licensees and applicants, and how to check your own compliance now rather than at renewal.
What the FATF Report Found
The report draws on questionnaire responses from 80 jurisdictions, written comments from 29 more, and consultation with the industry. Its main findings:
- Highest-risk products. Land-based and online casinos and sports betting carry the highest money-laundering exposure; lotteries and scratch cards are lower risk.
- Vulnerable payment methods. Cash, e-wallets, mobile money and virtual assets are the most open to abuse, particularly where deposits are structured to stay below reporting thresholds.
- Ownership. Shareholdings in platforms can be structured to slip under the thresholds that trigger regulatory checks.
- Unregulated and offshore operators. The red-flag indicators include illegal operators running multiple mirror sites and offshore operations outside effective supervision.
The report is addressed to governments and supervisors, but its red flags quickly become the questions that banks, payment providers and regulators put to operators.
What Anjouan Gaming Announced
In late September 2026 the regulator said the FATF report reinforces the standards it already holds licensees to, and that it had enhanced its licence conditions and strengthened its application requirements to stay aligned with global AML/CFT standards. Coverage of the announcement noted the areas already central to its licensing: identity verification, company ownership checks, source-of-funds verification and screening of key individuals.
The announcement continues a pattern. The regulator reported in July 2026 that it had issued more than 1,650 internet gaming licenses, close to 1,500 of them active, and through 2026 it has added certificate verification and a mandatory ADR requirement for operators. With a register that large, the regulator’s credibility depends on showing it supervises, not just issues.
What is not yet public: the exact wording of the revised conditions. Until they are published, the safest approach is to treat the FATF red flags as the standard your license will be measured against.
KYC and Ongoing Due Diligence on Players
“Ongoing” is the key word. A one-time identity check at registration is no longer enough. In practice an operator should be able to show:
- identity verification before withdrawals, and before deposits pass risk-based thresholds;
- source-of-funds and source-of-wealth checks that scale with player value and activity;
- transaction monitoring that flags structuring, rapid deposit-and-withdraw cycles with little play, and chip dumping or collusion between accounts;
- re-verification when a player’s profile changes (new payment method, new country, sharp change in stakes);
- documented suspicious-activity escalation, with records kept.
Geo-controls belong here too: players from excluded markets must be blocked effectively, not just in the terms. See the restricted countries list.
Crypto, E-Wallets and Payment Risk
The FATF singles out exactly the payment methods many offshore casinos rely on. For an operator licensed in Anjouan that accepts crypto or e-wallets, expect closer scrutiny of:
- wallet screening and blockchain analytics on deposits and withdrawals;
- matching the withdrawal destination to the deposit source;
- limits and monitoring designed to catch deposits split below thresholds;
- due diligence on payment providers and crypto processors themselves.
Weak controls here also cost you banking. Payment partners read FATF reports too; see our notes on payments for Anjouan operators.
Ownership Transparency
Because the FATF flags ownership structured to avoid checks, expect beneficial ownership to be examined closely, both at application and whenever shareholders change. Nominee arrangements, layered holding companies and shareholdings set just below disclosure thresholds will draw questions. Keep a current ownership chart down to the individuals, with KYC files for every beneficial owner and key person, and notify changes promptly rather than at renewal.
What New Anjouan Applicants Should Prepare
Applicants should assume the bar has risen. A strong file today includes complete KYC for every beneficial owner and director, evidence of source of funds for the capital behind the business, a written AML/CFT policy and risk assessment specific to your products and payment methods (not a generic template), a named compliance officer, and a clear description of your KYC provider and transaction-monitoring set-up. The canonical timeline is 4–8 weeks, and incomplete AML documentation is the most common reason it slips. The full application process and fees are in our Anjouan gaming license guide.
Self-Audit Checklist for Current Licensees
- Is your AML/CFT risk assessment dated 2026 and does it cover every payment method you accept?
- Do KYC triggers (deposit, withdrawal, cumulative thresholds) actually fire in your platform, and can you prove it?
- Is crypto screening in place on both deposits and withdrawals?
- Is your ownership chart current, with KYC for each beneficial owner?
- Are suspicious-activity decisions logged with reasons?
- Are your ADR provider and certificate verification set up correctly?
FAQ
Why did Anjouan tighten its licensing rules?
The regulator acted in response to the FATF’s September 2026 report Risks of Gaming and Gambling, saying it had enhanced licence conditions and application requirements to stay aligned with global AML/CFT standards.
Which specific conditions changed?
The regulator has not published an itemized list. Its statement emphases robust KYC and ongoing due diligence, and the areas it already checks: identity, ownership, source of funds and screening of key individuals.
Does this affect existing licensees or only new applicants?
Both. The announcement refers to license conditions, which apply to existing licensees, and to application requirements for new applicants.
Is crypto still allowed under an Anjouan license?
Crypto payments are not banned by the announcement, but the FATF flags virtual assets as high-risk, so expect wallet screening and stronger monitoring to be required in practice.
Does the stricter regime make the license harder to get?
It makes poorly documented applications harder to get through. A complete AML/CFT file and full beneficial-owner KYC keep the process within the usual 4–8 weeks.
Conclusion
The FATF report did not invent new obligations for gambling operators. It described the risks regulators, banks and payment providers already worry about, and the regulator has responded by raising its own bar. Operators who can document ongoing KYC, payment screening and transparent ownership will find renewals and banking easier; those relying on a 2024-era compliance pack should update it now.
Want your Anjouan licence or application checked against the current requirements? Legarithm handles Anjouan gambling licensing and compliance reviews. Send us your licence details and we will review your AML/KYC set-up.
Disclaimer: This article is general information as of October 2026 and is not legal advice. Licence conditions may be updated without public notice; confirm current requirements directly with the regulator or a licensed advisor before acting.
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