Following a requirement by the Philippines Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Council (AMLC) making registration of casinos with the entity obligatory by the middle of next month, five casinos have reportedly already stepped up. The registration comes following a suggestion by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global policy-making group that creates standards for fighting money laundering and terrorism financing, which the FATF said would help improve the status of casinos in the country.

According to the council, the five registered casinos include Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment, which operates the Okada Manila property, Melco Crown, owner of City of Dreams Manila, Resorts World Manila’s Travellers International Hotel Group, Widus Philippines and Widus International Leisure of the Widus Hotel and Casino and Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels, which operates the Solaire Resort and Casino.

Earlier this year, The AMLC updated its Registration and Reporting Guidelines for Casinos. The new guidelines makes the filing of a report compulsory within five working days after a “covered transaction” where the amount is more than $100,000. Additionally, suspicious transactions, such as lack of identification or suspicion of criminal activity involvement, must also be reported.

The Philippines are working diligently to clean up its public perception. It instituted a new requirement last year that makes carrying identity – such as a passport or driver’s license – obligatory while gambling. The casinos are now also required to keep records of all gambling activity for a period of a minimum of five years.