Financial crime watchdog AUSTRAC announced on May 30 that it has entered into a binding agreement with sports betting operator Sportsbet to strengthen compliance with Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) laws.
Brendan Thomas, CEO of AUSTRAC, commented: “Corporate bookmakers must have robust systems in place to ensure they comply with their AML/CTF obligations. Sportsbet’s undertaking binds it to a programme of work. This will help ensure Sportsbet manages and mitigates the risks associated with money laundering and terrorism financing”.
Request for audit in 2022
The development follows the regulator in November 2022 ordering Sportsbet and bet365 to appoint an external auditor to review their compliance with the country’s anti-money laundering regime.
AUSTRAC said that having considered the auditor’s findings and cooperation with Sportsbet, it concluded that a binding agreement was the most appropriate regulatory response.
This agreement will require Sportsbet to follow its current action plan to improve its AUSTRAC-supervised AML/CFT program to ensure its implementation within the agreed time frame.
In addition, Sportsbet will be required to provide auditor reports to AUSTRAC to track progress towards its objectives.
Thomas continued: “We will be monitoring Sportsbet throughout this process to ensure it meets these obligations, and there will be consequences if it does not. Betting agencies, like all regulated entities, have a significant role to play in combatting financial crime. This undertaking will ensure that Sportsbet commits sufficient resources to adequately implement its remediation programme promptly, or risk further enforcement action”.
This news means that Flutter and bet365 are now going their separate ways to comply with AML/CFT regulations in Australia.
AUSTRAC is investigating bet365
In March, AUSTRAC announced it had launched an investigation into bet365’s Australian parent company Hillside (Australia New Media) Pty Limited.
The regulator clarified that the purpose of the investigation is to check whether the operator complies with its obligations to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism in accordance with Australian law.
The decision to launch an investigation was made after receiving a report from the external auditor AUSTRAC.
“Corporate bookmakers must have robust systems in place to ensure they can manage and mitigate risks associated with money laundering and terrorism financing. Businesses without adequate processes in place to manage those risks leave themselves vulnerable to exploitation by criminals”, – said Thomas.
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