News just out, INTERPOL has reported another hugely successful Operation SOGA against illegal betting that was conducted in June and July and involved 28 countries and territories.
INTERPOL calculated that the authorities involved in the global operations made over 5,100 arrests and recovered more than US$59 million in illicit proceeds, with their actions impacting.
The authorities in Brazil continue their efforts to halt the spreading of illegal betting in the country, announcing that another 1,443 online betting and Gaming with platforms being blocked.
The UK Gambling Commission has issued a powerful statement outlining the enforcement and prevention taken by the regulator to minimise the impact of illegal gambling in the country.
The actions announced by the Gambling Commission are a powerful toolkit of measures that should be studied by other gambling regulators seeking ways to combat illegal markets.
Today INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organisation, dedicated to supporting law enforcement agencies in its 196 member countries to combat all transnational crime.
With its global presence, INTERPOL provides support and collaboration worldwide with its Match-Fixing Task Force operations in addressing financial crime and sports-linked corruption.
Currently, the INTERPOL Match-Fixing Task Force includes 110 member countries – an increase of 10 countries since January 2024 – and over 200 national points of contact globally.
The INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre coordinates transnational investigations into cyber-enabled financial crimes through Operation HAECHI, that tackles those prevalent.
Operation HAECHI has targeted money laundering linked to illegal online betting, a highly profitable and pervasive form of cyber, a crime fuelled by high returns and addictive behaviours.
Once criminals establish an online betting platform, they can attract participants worldwide, causing harm that far exceeds traditional offline betting, giving immense illicit profits generated.
Money laundering also often accompanies these operations to conceal and legitimise unlawful earnings, and notably this aspect of money laundering is addressed by Operation SOGA.
The operation modules used for these crimes are increasingly sophisticated and malicious, with online scam centres being proliferated and are involved in a range of criminal activities,
Involving human trafficking, voice phishing, illegal online betting promotion and romance scams, INTERPOL has dismantled several of these operations as they house the masterminds.
In a case coordinated by INTERPOL it dismantled an online scam centre in the Philippines where illegal online betting was a primary crime, with the INTERPOL operations complement each other.
Enhancing the global cooperation to combat cyber-enabled crimes like illegal online betting and related financial offences, while similar call centres have been reported in Southeast Asia.
In response, INTERPOL and other organisations such as the Asian Racing Federation have issued intelligence reports to prevent the spread of these crimes, with INTERPOL monitoring.
Another recent case further illustrates INTERPOL’s operations, and for reasons of confidentiality, some lines of investigation are still opened, names of the countries involved are masked.
Authorities in Country A dismantled an organised criminal group involved in illegal online betting across Countries A, B, and C, and recruited teenagers in Country A by lure of illegal profit.
As teenagers became involved, they not only participated in the crimes but also targeted additional teenage victims, and with the cooperation of member jurisdictions in Countries B and C, HAECHI and SOGA, successfully dismantled the group which had illicitly earned over US$ 33 million.
