The Australian Government’s Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre has begun an investigation into bet365 regarding its compliance with the country’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act.
AUSTRAC has stated that its investigation into bet365 – the trading name of Hillside (New Media) Limited – will focus on whether the operator has “complied with its obligations” under the AML/CTF Act.
In addition, the investigation “follows a supervisory campaign of entities within the corporate bookmaker sector and AUSTRAC’s consideration of the external audit report received following AUSTRAC’s order to bet365 to appoint an external auditor”.
AUSTRAC noted that it has a variety of regulatory tools and enforcement powers at its disposal and it “will not hesitate to take action where suspected non-compliance is identified”.
“Corporate bookmakers must have robust systems in place to ensure they can manage and mitigate risks associated with money laundering and terrorism financing,” commented Brendan Thomas, CEO of AUSTRAC.
“Businesses without adequate processes in place to manage those risks leave themselves vulnerable to exploitation by criminals.”
Bet365 has been approached by CasinoBeats for a comment on the investigation.
