Isle Of Man GSC Updates AML Guidance For Operators
The Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission has published updated anti-money laundering guidance for gambling operators, asking licence holders to look harder at risks that arrive through business partners, group structures and beneficial ownership.
The update, version 1.4 of the AML/CFT guidance, was released on 10 November 2026 and follows the island's 2025 and 2026 national risk assessments.
The regulator was clear that nothing in the law has moved. In its notice to operators, the Commission said the underlying requirements of the Gambling (Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism) Code 2019 are unchanged. What has changed is how it expects operators to apply the risk-based approach in practice.
What The Updated Guidance Covers
The Commission says the guidance now reflects the threats and typologies identified in the national risk assessments and the current risk environment. It expands on the risk-based approach to include risks arising through wider business relationships, B2B arrangements and group structures, as well as customer and beneficial ownership risks.
Other sections have been refreshed too. They span business, customer and technology risk assessments, identity and verification, customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence, payments and transaction risks, terrorist and proliferation financing, financial sanctions, internal and external reporting, and staff training and appointments.
The Commission has also clarified its supervisory expectations where needed and updated links to national and international guidance and typologies. The document itself has had a cosmetic overhaul, with refreshed diagrams.
Why B2B And Ownership Are In Focus
The emphasis follows the island's money laundering risk assessment for the gambling sector, published in February 2026. According to European Gaming, that assessment rated the sector as a whole, and online gambling specifically, as medium-high risk, with land-based gambling rated medium-low.
Among the main threats it listed were criminal ownership of gambling businesses or B2B services through front companies and complex corporate structures, and organised crime groups, including some from East and Southeast Asia.
The Isle of Man is a long-standing base for B2B suppliers and remote gambling operators, so a nudge towards scrutinising suppliers, partners and corporate groups lands directly on the licensed community. The same pressure is visible elsewhere.
Our own coverage has tracked how regulators are tightening their approach to illegal gambling and the money behind it, and the UK Gambling Commission raised gambling software to medium risk in its 2026 assessment, as European Gaming noted.
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What Operators Are Being Asked To Do
The Commission wants operators to prioritise reviewing the new guidance ahead of other recent GSC publications, work out whether their AML/CFT/CPF frameworks need to change, and make any updates as soon as practicable. Operators that want help can contact their usual GSC contact or arrange a drop-in session at the Commission's offices, where staff will be available.
The Commission is also progressing updates across its wider AML/CFT guidance suite. That includes the guidance for software suppliers and for licence holders with network services permissions, as well as the guidance on virtual assets and goods. It has invited operators to contribute and to suggest areas where further clarification would help.
On the same day, the GSC published its 2026 proliferation financing survey of the gambling sector. European Gaming reports that, of the operators that also took part in 2024, 94% said they had acted to improve their understanding of proliferation financing and 80% reported better awareness. In July the Commission also stepped up its action against illegal gambling, according to the same outlet.
