AI driving gambling-related criminal networks in Asia: Report
The rapid spread of artificial intelligence is driving a sharp rise in gambling-related financial crime across Asia, according to a new report, as authorities struggle to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated criminal networks.
In its latest assessment, investigative firm Steve Vickers Association (SVA) warns that the growing use of AI tools has significantly lowered the barriers to entry for fraudsters. At the same time, the expansion of digital assets has made it easier to move and launder illicit funds across borders. Together, the report says, these trends are accelerating financial crime at a scale that governments are finding difficult to contain.
SVA argues that law enforcement agencies are being outpaced by the speed of technological change. Weak cross-border cooperation, legal complexity and jurisdictional limits have slowed investigations, particularly those targeting organised crime groups operating in multiple countries.
Call for operators to strengthen defences
As a result, the firm warns that companies can no longer rely solely on regulatory or police action to protect themselves. Instead, it says operators must strengthen their own safeguards or risk severe financial and reputational damage.
Recent crackdowns across Asia show both the scale of the problem and the challenges facing authorities. In Hong Kong, mainland China and Cambodia, regulators have stepped up enforcement against alleged financial crime and illegal gambling networks. One of the most high-profile cases emerged in January 2026, when Vincent Chen Zhi, head of Cambodia’s Prince Group, was arrested and extradited. The conglomerate has long been accused of operating illicit gaming businesses and facilitating large-scale financial scams.
According to the consultancy, Chen’s network was under scrutiny in several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China. Investigators seized assets in multiple jurisdictions, from large cryptocurrency holdings to prime London property, as well as significant cash sums in Hong Kong and luxury items in Singapore.
Crypto behind AI-enabled abuse
Cryptocurrency markets now sit at the centre of many of these operations. SVA estimates that illicit crypto flows jumped by about 145 percent in 2025 from the year before, reaching roughly $158 billion. It warns that some regulated exchanges may still fail to act on suspicious activity, often to avoid driving customers elsewhere, adding another layer of difficulty for enforcement agencies.
Recent cases appear to back up those concerns. In mid-2025, police in Vietnam’s Thái Bình province broke up a large cross-border gambling ring linked to the offshore platform KUBET. Authorities said the group managed more than one million user accounts and handled illegal wagers running into billions of Vietnamese dong.
Investigators believe the network used AI-generated deepfake videos to get around facial recognition checks on high-value bank transfers. Similar methods have been reported in South Korea, where officials uncovered online gambling adverts using fake videos that appeared to show celebrities or news programmes promoting illegal platforms.
Aimed mainly at social media users, the material was designed to appear credible and draw in victims. Analysts warn that without tighter international cooperation and better detection tools, the abuse of AI in financial crime is likely to grow.
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