Australia’s financial markets watchdog, AUSTRAC, has revealed some of the details of its investigation into money laundering at Entain’s Australian business, according to media reports. The watchdog has produced a 640-page report accusing the firm of failing to comply with regulations over many years.
It is important to note that the company has not been accused of directly engaging in criminal activity. Instead, AUSTRAC believes the firm failed to carry out the required level of due diligence, allowing potential money laundering to occur.
One notable allegation is that Entain knew that a high-spending customer was an associate of a wanted international drug dealer. That customer spent more than AUD$1 million with the bookmaker in a single year, across either one or both of its Australia-focused brands, Ladbrokes Australia or Neds.
The AUSTRAC investigation could leave Entain facing further regulatory troubles following scandals in the UK that saw the firm hit with a then-record fine for breaching AML and social responsibility rules in 2022.
Entain says it is committed to tackling financial crime in betting.
“We are taking these allegations extremely seriously and continue to fully cooperate with Austrac,” said Stella David, CEO of Entain.
“We are committed to keeping financial crime out of gambling and continue to play our part in supporting a well-regulated and compliant sector for our customers, stakeholders and the wider community.”
AUSTRAC first opened its investigation into Entain in December 2024, accusing the firm’s leadership of failing to properly oversee its AML and counter-terrorist finance programme.
It was also accused of lacking the right controls to confirm customer identity, did not conduct necessary checks on 17 high risk customers and of using third parties on its behalf which accepted deposits into accounts which could have obscured criminal proceeds.
“AUSTRAC’s proceedings allege that Entain did not develop and maintain a compliant anti-money laundering program and failed to identify and assess the risks it faced,” AUSTRAC CEO, Brendan Thomas, said at the time.
“We are alleging this left the company at serious risk of criminal exploitation.”
Gavin Issacs, who was CEO of Entain at the time the investigation started, stated at the time that the company was treating the allegations ‘extremely seriously’ – a sentiment echoed by his successor, David.
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