Finance
Australian Regulator Sues Ladbrokes Owner Entain's Local Unit for Money Laundering
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 16, 2024
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
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AUSTRAC sues Entain's Australian unit for AML and CTF law breaches, alleging inadequate compliance oversight and potential criminal exploitation.
Entain Sued by AUSTRAC for Alleged Money Laundering Breaches
(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)
Key Takeaways
- •AUSTRAC sues Entain's Australian unit for AML and CTF breaches.
- •Entain allegedly failed to oversee its compliance program.
- •High-risk customers reportedly used pseudonyms on betting platforms.
- •Entain's CEO warns of potential financial penalties.
- •Entain is working on improving its compliance measures.
Frequently Asked Questions about Australian regulator sues Ladbrokes owner Entain's local unit for money laundering
1What is the main topic?
The main topic is AUSTRAC's lawsuit against Entain's Australian unit for alleged breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
2What are the allegations against Entain?
AUSTRAC alleges Entain failed to maintain a compliant AML program, leaving it vulnerable to criminal exploitation.
3What actions is Entain taking?
Entain is cooperating with AUSTRAC and implementing enhancements to its AML and CTF compliance arrangements.