Entain Faces Potential Civil Money-Laundering Fine in Australia

(Bloomberg) — Entain Plc, the gambling company that owns Ladbrokes, said that Australia’s anti-money laundering regulator had opened civil penalty proceedings against the group’s local subsidiary following a two-year investigation. 

A fine as a result of the federal court case could be “potentially material” and the company is carefully considering the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre’s filings, Entain said in a statement on Monday. 

The regulator announced the probe, looking at whether the company had broken laws requiring it to identify and stop money laundering and terrorist financing on its platform, into Entain’s Australian unit in September 2022. Entain had told the regulator it was updating its platform to protect against financial crime in a program set to be completed next year. 

“We are committed to keeping financial crime out of gambling and continue to play our part in supporting a well-regulated and compliant sector for our customers, stakeholders and the wider community,” Chief Executive Officer Gavin Isaacs said in the statement.

Entain shares were down 3% to 790.60 pence at 8:16 a.m. in London after earlier falling as much as 5.2%. The stock has declined 20% this year. 

Regulators globally are clamping down on online gambling companies, aiming to head off criminals who abuse the platforms and to protect customers from losing too much money. The UK, where Entain is based, said last month that gambling operators will face a tax of as much as 1.1% of profits on some types of games as the government seeks £100 million ($126 million) a year to invest in harm reduction and research. 

Last year, Entain agreed to pay £615 million to resolve a probe with UK prosecutors following an investigation into potential bribery offenses at its former Turkish business. Entain previously had been asked to pay the UK Gambling Commission a record settlement of £17 million in 2022 for failing to enforce player safety and anti-money-laundering measures. 

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