The Philippines’ proposed threshold for casinos to report suspicious transactions is too high to satisfy international financial watchdogs, according to the head of the country’s stock exchange.

Last month, both chambers of the Philippine legislature unanimously approved plans to add the nation’s gambling operators – land-based, shipboard and online – to the definition of ‘covered persons’ under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA).

But the legislation only requires gaming operators to report individual transactions above P5m (US $100k) while non-gaming ‘covered persons’ had their threshold set at just P500k. This discrepancy could fail to impress international AML watchdogs, or so suggests Teresita Herbosa, chairperson of the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission.

Herbosa, who also sits on the Philippines’ Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), told the Philippine Star that the P5m figure “should be lowered if we really want stricter monitoring.” Not surprisingly, her view isn’t shared by the nation’s gaming operators, who have voiced their support for the new legislation’s moderate threshold.