Entain Australia responds to AUSTRAC case, admitting past compliance gaps

Entain Australia has submitted its defence to AUSTRAC’s amended statement of claim in the Federal Court of Australia.

The operator of Ladbrokes admitted that its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing compliance programme had certain shortcomings between December 2018 and August 2024. However, Entain rejected several of AUSTRAC’s allegations and interpretations in the ongoing case.

Andrew Vouris, chief executive of Entain Australia & New Zealand, said:

We sincerely regret that our old programme didn’t meet expectations. We followed expert advice at the time but, looking back, we recognise the old programme missed the mark.

This comes after Australia’s financial intelligence agency initiated legal action against the company in December 2024, following a two-year investigation into possible breaches of its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing programmes.

Entain highlighted that over the past two years, it has significantly overhauled its compliance framework and reinforced its programme.

These efforts involved expanding its AML/CTF team tenfold and investing tens of millions of dollars in upgraded systems and technology.

The company also eliminated high-risk channels, including all cash payment options that previously represented less than 2% of deposits, and shut down all 17 customer accounts under scrutiny – some as early as 2020, before legal proceedings began.

Further improvements include enhanced governance, stronger controls and processes, improved risk oversight, and the establishment of a new leadership team dedicated to fostering a compliance-first culture.

Andrew Vouris, chief executive of Entain Australia & New Zealand, said: