The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) is an independent think tank based in London. RUSI’s Centre for Financial Crime & Security Studies focuses on the challenges of money laundering and terrorist financing, leveraging the role that finance can play in disrupting a range of globally recognised threats. As part of its financial crime research, the Centre is currently undertaking a project that explores effective responses to the risks of online businesses, including online games, being used to move proceeds of crime.
In this context, RUSI’s research team is looking to better understand potential vulnerabilities, if any, that can render in-game currencies and goods amenable to criminal misuse. While there is public-source reporting on (a) the purchase of in-game currencies and goods using compromised bank cards, as well as (b) real-money transactions that take place in breach of respective games’ rules, RUSI’s research aims to advance a balanced and evidence-based understanding of the scale of these issues, their impact on online game providers and best practices in responding to them.
As part of the project, we are looking for participants from the online gaming industry willing to share their views in semi-structured research interviews. The information from interviews can be used in a report to be published later in 2019 but will not be attributed to specific individuals or organisations. We would be most grateful for your time. Please contact AntonM@rusi.org if you would like to take part or have any questions about the project.
RUSI’s financial crime research is widely read among UK and overseas policymakers, regulators, law enforcement agencies and private-sector organisations