After announcing an “extensive supervisory campaign into the corporate bookmaking industry, AUSTRAC—Australia’s financial crime authority—has called for an audit of Bet365 and Sportsbet, two of the leading bookmakers in the country, over concerns related to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) violations .
Entain, a major U.K.-based bookmaker that operates Australia’s Neds and Ladbrokes brands, also came under scrutiny as part of the campaign, but no further disciplinary action has been taken as of yet.
That being said, Entain appears to be doing a bit of damage control, having recently announced that it will be nixing all of its existing partnerships with sports teams and leagues in Australia. As of now, the Entain brand will no longer appear on sports jerseys throughout the country.
Ladbrokes had been the betting sponsor of the Brisbane Broncos rugby team, while Neds had been affiliated with UFC Australia, the Brisbane Lions Australian football team and the A-Leagues, which is the premier soccer league in Australia and New Zealand.
Entain released a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald which said: “While we have had many great partners in this space over a long period of time, we understand some of the community sentiment around this and feel it is the right time to step away from this area.”
Meanwhile, the requested audit into Bet365 and Sportsbet will encompass the following measures, per AUSTRAC:
- Whether or not the bookmakers have adopted and maintained risk-based AML/CTF protocols to spot, intercept and prevent problem behavior;
- Whether they have undertaken the proper risk assessment systems that takes both their services and their customer types into account; and
- Whether they have an effective framework in place for directors and senior-level staff to have continuous oversight of financial management.
The audit will be conducted by a third-party firm, which will have a period of 180 days to complete the audit and report findings to the agency.
Nicole Rose, CEO of AUSTRAC, told Inside Asian Gaming that the agency “is putting the whole industry on notice to lift their game,” and that it will “not hesitate to take action where suspected non-compliance is identified, to protect businesses from being exploited and protect the Australian community from harm.”
“Ultimately, enforcing non-compliance is about protecting the community,” Rose added. ”Money laundering feeds organized crime and all the harm that comes with it. We need businesses at the front line to fully comply with the AML/CTF Act – to understand and mitigate their risks and report suspected crimes.”
