Australian regulator sues Ladbrokes owner Entain's local unit for money laundering

(Reuters) - Australia's financial crime watchdog on Monday said it has launched legal action against Ladbrokes owner Entain's local unit, alleging breaches of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) laws by its online betting platforms.

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has alleged that Entain Group Pty Ltd's management failed to adequately oversee its AML and CTF program, leaving the company vulnerable to exploitation through its 24/7 online betting platforms and third-party cash deposit systems.

AUSTRAC claims Entain's unit failed to implement adequate identity and fund-source checks, particularly for 17 high-risk customers, and reportedly used pseudonyms to obscure identities, potentially enabling criminal exploitation of its betting platforms.

"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. We are alleging this left the company at serious risk of criminal exploitation," AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said.

In a statement, Entain's CEO Gavin Isaacs warned investors of a potentially significant financial penalty.

"We have co-operated fully with AUSTRAC throughout its investigation and we are implementing further enhancements to Entain Australia's AML and CTF compliance arrangements. Whilst we still have some further improvements to make, we expect these to be implemented in line with the plan we communicated to AUSTRAC in 2023," Isaacs said.

(Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)