Entain Australia has admitted to certain deficiencies in its previous anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) compliance program, but has also disputed several allegations and interpretations made by AUSTRAC.
The operator’s comments come as it files its defence in response to Australia’s financial crime regulator’s amended statement of claim in the Federal Court of Australia, stating it has transformed its operations into a “compliance-first culture”.
An investigation was launched in December last year into Entain’s Australian subsidiaries, namely Ladbrokes and Neds, concerning its exposure to money laundering liabilities and fraud by criminal accounts.
AUSTRAC alleges that Entain allowed 17 high-risk customers to spend AUS $152m (€86.2m) without proper checks taking place. The operator is accused of allowing one player with significant links to drug trafficking to launder over AUS $20m through its operations.
Compliance remodel
Entain acknowledged that, between December 2018 and August 2024, its AML/CTF compliance program had certain deficiencies, but it has also disputed many AUSTRAC allegations and interpretations.
The operator maintains that, as of August 2024, its AML and CTF compliance had undergone a substantial upgrade and was compliant with the AUSTRAC frameworks.
In addition, the operator highlighted changes made over the past two years to strengthen its operations.
Andrew Vouris, CEO of Entain Australia & New Zealand, commented: “We sincerely regret that our old program didn’t meet expectations. We followed expert advice at the time but, looking back, we recognise the old program missed the mark.
“We’ve acknowledged our shortcomings, taken responsibility, and spent the last two years learning from them and fixing them. Entain has fundamentally transformed its approach to compliance and now operates a market-leading program, underpinned by a compliance-first culture – to win, but not at all costs.”
Changes to its compliance approach listed by Entain included:
- Increasing AML/CTF staffing tenfold
- Investing tens of millions of dollars in new systems and technology
- Closing higher risk channels, including all cash payment channels which previously accounted for less than 2% of deposits
- Closing all 17 customer accounts in question prior to legal proceedings, some as far back as 2020
- Introducing new governance, controls, processes and oversight of risks
- Commitment from a new leadership team to a compliance-first culture.
Entain added that it has “fully cooperated with AUSTRAC and continues to engage constructively and in good faith”.
Back in April, Entain CEO Stella David told iGaming Expert: “We are taking these allegations extremely seriously and continue to fully cooperate with Austrac. 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.”
During the company’s H1 update, CFO Rob Wood expressed confidence that the operator could steer clear of a significant penalty as the case reaches a resolution.
