Part One – The State of RegTech in 2026: Rising Pressure, Smarter Compliance, and a New Era of Digital Readiness in Casinos

Regulatory expectations are rising on every front, and operators feel the pressure. Across commercial, tribal, and international markets, Anti-money laundering (“AML”) scrutiny is intensifying, operational demands are increasing, and technology adoption is accelerating.

In 2026, casino operators face a reality in which compliance, operations, and guest experience can no longer be treated as separate lanes. They are converging into a single, high-stakes expectation that requires more foresight, data intelligence, and modern tools.

A global shift in AML enforcement is reshaping operator priorities

According to Adam Fong, SVP Product Management, Casino Solutions at Everi, the industry is entering a period of sustained regulatory pressure.

“There’s been a lot of enforcement actions around the world, and we’re seeing not just financial crimes regulators getting involved — gaming regulators are stepping in too,” Fong said. “That’s everywhere, from Nevada to Australia, the Philippines, United Kingdom and Canada. Gaming operators around the world are being asked by their regulators to improve their AML programs and mitigate risk.”

The result is a new baseline for operators: higher expectations, deeper reviews, and more accountability. These pressures are seen consistently across all markets that IGT serves with Everi products. Operators are now required to demonstrate not only that they follow the rules, but that they can identify risk and implement the appropriate steps to mitigate. 

Fong sees no signs of this slowing down.

“When I talk to operators, a lot of them are doing a lot with less ever since Covid. Pretty much all of them are looking to technology solutions to reduce the cost of compliance while maintaining high levels of guest service,” he said. “The regulatory pressure is going to ramp up, and the penalties will continue to get more and more serious on the AML side.”  

Operators that once approached compliance as a cost center must now see it as a critical operational competency.

Technology investment is increasing, changing the landscape

The worldwide regulatory shift is accelerating technology adoption in the compliance space. Fong observed two major movements in the supplier ecosystem: a surge of niche providers solving small, specialized problems, and a parallel rise in demand for integrated, enterprise-grade platforms

“There’s a larger investment in new technologies to improve guest experience, make operations more efficient, and reduce the cost of regulatory compliance — all key goals that operators want to achieve,” Fong said. “We want to stress to gaming operators the importance of leveraging technology to assist with compliance needs. In fact, we have spoken to multiple operators that have told us their banks have threatened to end relationships with them unless they have proper technology in place to automate AML processes.”

AI is on the horizon, operators must proceed carefully

AI is the most hyped technology across all industries, yet also the one requiring the most caution. This is particularly true in the heavily regulated gaming sector.

Fong sees operators experimenting but cautions about using AI for regulatory compliance purposes where accuracy and data sensitivity are critical.

“There is a desire for all businesses, including casinos to leverage AI technology to improve their business. In my discussions with operators, I know a lot of them are using AI for accelerating or automating routine administrative tasks such as generating presentations, drafting emails, and taking notes,” he said. “In situations where data sensitivity comes into play, that's a touchy subject for AI usage — for example, using AI to write Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) may give operators some improvements in productivity, but it adds risk of putting highly sensitive information into the public domain. The goal is to ensure that your compliance, legal, and  IT teams are all in alignment about the use of AI when it comes to leveraging it for regulatory compliance purposes.”  

The IGT-Everi combination expands compliance possibilities for operators

Fong describes this new era of IGT-Everi as an expansion of possibilities while pushing boundaries.

With IGT’s systems and operations data now under the same roof as Everi’s RegTech stack, new solutions that once required clunky, multi-vendor coordination can move quicker. Products such as Jackpot Xpress, PitXpress, combined AML tools, identity verification, and form management can now be orchestrated faster and with better precision. 

“We're newly inspired with more ideas now that we're able to work with our systems teams; there's a lot of brilliant people here within the company,” Fong said. “It’s been inspiring to think about how we can leverage Everi products for different use cases and the expanded possibilities in combination with the  IGT systems team.”

The unique potential of the combined organization means IGT is positioned to lead the way on technological innovation. The examples of innovation that Fong pointed to span more than a decade: purchasing tickets on a kiosk, TITO for table games, mobile jackpot processing, and more. Over time, early innovations become industry expectations.

“Everi the first to market with a lot of new technology, and sometimes the market wasn’t even ready for what we introduced, that’s how early we have been,” he said. “We have a great track record of high adoption across product lines over time, and IGT has their own heritage of technology leadership in gaming, so that makes it even more exciting for me personally.”

RegTech modernization: solving real, sometimes expensive problems

One of the clearest signs of progress comes from Everi’s Entegrity AML platform, where sophisticated algorithms helped a pilot property identify suspicious activity that previously required 25 hours per week of manual review by compliance analysts.

This is the future of RegTech: not replacing human judgment but helping it with precision tools that eliminate noise and surface real risk.

The state of RegTech and casino operations in 2026 is defined by modernization, vigilance, and readiness. Operators who invest early will navigate regulatory change with confidence and create a more streamlined, secure, and modern patron experience across their floors.

If you're interested in learning more about Everi’s RegTech solutions, reach out to an Everi sales professional today!