Australia financial crimes regulator opens investigation into Britain's Entain
Reuters
Published Sep 11, 2022 09:49PM ET
Updated Sep 12, 2022 04:00AM ET
(Reuters) -The Australian financial crimes regulator said on Monday it opened an investigation into British sports betting giant Entain Plc to assess whether it was complying with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) said it began the enforcement investigation after an extensive supervisory campaign covering the whole corporate bookmaking sector, without giving further details.
"Reporting entities have a responsibility to ensure they identify, assess and manage risks of money laundering and terrorism financing, develop adequate processes and devote the necessary resources to comply with their AML/CTF obligations," AUSTRAC Chief Executive Officer Nicole Rose said in a statement.
Online betting has exploded in Australia since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when physical gambling shopfronts were forced to shut in stop-start lockdowns over nearly two years.
London-listed Entain, which has about one-sixth of Australia's online betting market via the Ladbrokes (LON:LCL) brand, and larger rival Flutter Entertainment Plc, Australia's largest online betting house which has Sportsbet, reported large revenue increases in calendar 2020 and 2021.
Last month, the British gambling regulator fined Entain 17 million pounds ($19 million), its biggest fine, for what it called "completely unacceptable anti-money laundering and safer gambling failures".
Entain, which in 2021 made an approach to buy certain assets of Australia's No. 2 online betting operator Tabcorp Holdings Ltd, said in a statement the company was cooperating with the investigation.
AUSTRAC had conducted a standard assessment of the company's Australian business' historical Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing policies and procedures between July 2016 and June 2020, Entain added.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.