Gaming Tax Law and Bank Secrecy Act Issues
Structuring
Federal law prohibits a nancial institution, including a casino or card club, to structure, attempt to structure
or assist in structuring transactions. Structuring pertains to conduct engaged in to evade a Bank Secrecy
Act reporting or recordkeeping requirement. It is unlawful under the Bank Secrecy Act and subjects a person
to civil and criminal penalties. See the United States Code, Title 31, Sections 5321, 5322 and 5324, and the
Code of Federal Regulations, Title 31, Section 1010.314.
Currency Transaction Reporting
A casino or card club must le a report for each cash-in or cash-out currency transaction it handles that
is more than $10,000. It must aggregate multiple currency transactions if the cash-in or cash-out amounts
during a single gaming day total more than $10,000. It would treat the cash-in or cash-out transactions as
a single transaction and as though conducted by or for the same person. It isn’t necessary to personally
observe the multiple transactions. The books, records, logs and computer les should contain the information
showing that the reportable currency transactions occurred. See the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 31,
Sections 1021.311 and 1021.313.
Example: While reviewing a customer’s account status on a computer in the gaming pit, a oor person
notices that a customer has already purchased $9,000 in chips with cash at another pit. Later, the customer
asks to purchase from the dealer an additional $5,000 in chips with cash that is approved by the oor person.
The casino is required to le a CTR because a casino employee had knowledge that the customer had cash-
in transactions over $10,000 in one gaming day.
When a winner’s aggregate amount exceeds $10,000, the casino or card club must report and le with
FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System. To properly le the form, it must secure certain information from the customer
(including foreign nationals) before concluding the transaction unless the transaction is identied through
an “after the fact aggregation” process. During the “after the fact aggregation” process, the casino or card
club is still required to le a completed form. It should obtain all the required information if available through
internal records or systems examinations.
See the FinCEN CTR for instructions on how to complete the form and the Code of Federal Regulations, Title
31, Section 1010.312 for the requirement to identify persons involved in currency transactions.
Multiple currency transactions may reach the threshold reporting requirements for FinCEN CTR without
requiring Form W-2G, Certain Gambling Winnings, reporting. Casinos and card clubs must have procedures
in place to ensure accurate ling. An example would be multiple slot jackpots below $1,200 aggregating to
more than $10,000.
If a currency transaction exceeds $10,000 and is suspicious, a casino or card club must le a CTR
(reporting the currency transaction) and a Suspicious Activity Report (reporting the suspicious aspects of
the transaction). The casino or card club must transmit all completed FinCEN forms electronically within 15
calendar days from the date of the transaction through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System.
Currency transactions in other operational aspects of a casino complex may be subject to other reporting
requirements such as:
• Independent check cashers, money remitters, wire transfer companies, and so on, operating inside or
outside of a casino use a Currency Transaction Report.
• Casino nongaming activities such as hotels, retail outlets and other establishments use Form 8300, Report
of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business. Cash for Form 8300 reporting purposes
includes coin, currency and cashier’s checks, bank drafts, traveler’s checks or money orders received
during a 12-month period.
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