Australia clears Sportsbet after anti-money laundering reforms

Australia's financial crime watchdog said on Friday that ​online betting firm Sportsbet had completed required improvements ‌to its anti-money laundering controls after it admitted serious deficiencies two years ago.

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis ​Centre accepted the company's remediation undertaking in ​2024, following some concerns it had raised over ⁠Sportsbet's compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism ​financing obligations, including risk assessment, customer monitoring and suspicious ​matter reporting.

"Sportsbet was required to undertake significant remediation to uplift its systems, controls and governance," AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas ​said in a statement, adding that the ​requirements have now been met.

Sportsbet, which calls itself Australia's biggest ‌sports ⁠betting firm, declined to comment.

An external auditor assured the regulator that the company had implemented the necessary remediation measures.

AUSTRAC said it would continue to ​closely monitor the ​gambling sector, ⁠which it considers vulnerable to money laundering risks, particularly in online environments ​where transactions occur rapidly and with ​limited ⁠face-to-face interaction.

The watchdog had first ordered an audit of Flutter Entertainment, owned Sportsbet in 2022 as online betting ⁠surged ​in Australia after the outbreak ​of the Covid-19 pandemic forced physical stores to shut.


-Reuters