[AusRace] BOOKIES TOLD TO LAY CARDS ON THE TABLE IN 180 DAYS

[L.B.Loveday]

I don't understand how "dirty money" goes in and comes out "clean",
whether it's bookmakers or someone walking into a casino with a stack
of "dirty" money, buying chips, betting it thereby almost certainly
losing some then cashing in the chips and leaving with "clean" money.

	 ****************This article is from the November 4 issue of
Australian Financial Review Digital Edition. 

 Elouise Fowler 

 One of Australia’s largest bookmakers, Sportsbet, insists it has
invested ‘‘ heavily’ ’ in its anti-money laundering systems ,
but the foreign-owned bookie shied away from declaring it was
compliant with the law, after a new probe into the betting shop and
its smaller rival, Bet365, was launched on Wednesday . 

Financial crimes watchdog AUSTRAC has appointed two external auditors
to rake over the foreign-owned betting shops’ activities and report
their findings within 180 days . 

AUSTRAC chief executive Nicole Rose suspects dirty cash is flowing
through the two bookmakers following a ‘‘ deep investigation’
’ of transactions and launched the probe into the foreign-owned
bookies just a day after the lucrative Melbourne Cup. 

Sportsbet and Bet365 face the prospect of multimillion-dollar fines
and other severe regulatory interventions if the auditors find
evidence of weak compliance systems and proceeds of crime washing
through the firms . 

Sportsbet, the FTSE-listed subsidiary of Flutter, said in a statement
it invests ‘‘ heavily in anti-money laundering and countering
terrorism finance (AML/ CTF) compliance and in our people, processes
and systems’’ . 

But it did not address the question when asked by The Australian
Financial Review whether it stood by its systems and processes for
tracking money laundering and undertaking due diligence on clients. 

Bet365, which is privately owned in the UK and registered in the
Northern Territory , echoed it was ‘‘ strongly committed to
maintaining high levels of compliance’’ . 

But the UK betting shop set itself apart from Sportsbet by insisting
it has ‘‘ robust policies and procedures to minimise risks’ ’
of AML/CTF. 

Sportsbet said the new investigation comes after a periodic compliance
assessment of the bookie from 2016 to 2020 by AUSTRAC. 

‘‘ Since then, we have enhanced our program and practices,
including conducting an independent review.’’ 

AUSTRAC’s crackdown comes after it launched an anti-money-laundering
‘‘ enforcement investigation’ ’ into Ladbrokes owner Entain
last month and five years after it hit Tabcorp with a $45 million fine
for allowing customers to facilitate dirty money through their betting
accounts. 

The auditors, who will be appointed at Sportsbet and Bet365’s
expense, will assess whether the betting shops adopt and maintain
strong enough defences to identify , mitigate and manage money
laundering; conduct thorough due diligence on their customers, and
ensure senior management has proper oversight. 

The appointment of the auditors could lead to an ‘‘ enforcement
investigation’ ’ by AUSTRAC. This is the latest investigation to
envelop the Sportsbet owner, which has overtaken Tabcorp as the
dominant local betting shop because of the merger between Flutter and
The Stars Group. 

The combined revenue of subsidiary outfits Sportsbet and BetEasy means
Flutter controls roughly 50 per cent of the country’s punting take,
$1.72 billion of revenue from almost $16 billion worth of bets in
2021. 

Last year , NSW Liquor & Gaming NSW fined Sportsbet $135,000 for
spamming customers with enticements when they had opted out of such
material. 

The Australian Communications and Media Authority separately scored a
$3.7 million penalty against Sportsbet this year for spamming
customers. 

And in 2016, Bet365 was handed a $2.75 million penalty after it was
found guilty of luring new punters with a false ‘‘ free bets’
’ offer. 

Copyright © 2022 Australian Financial Review

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