Australia: Sportsbet commits to strengthen anti-financial crime measures

Sportsbet has made a commitment to enhance its measures against money laundering and terrorism financing, according to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), the country's financial crimes regulator.

"The enforceable undertaking is designed to help prevent Sportsbet becoming a place criminals can funnel their illicit funds through," AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said. "This undertaking will ensure that Sportsbet commits sufficient resources to adequately implement its remediation program promptly, or risk further enforcement action."

The regulatory scrutiny of Sportsbet began in 2022 when AUSTRAC ordered an audit of the company. This move came amidst a surge in online betting activities in Australia due to the closure of physical betting venues during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of the undertaking with AUSTRAC, Sportsbet has committed to an ongoing remedial action plan to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing program. Additionally, the company will provide regular reports to AUSTRAC from an independent auditor.

"We take our responsibility to mitigate the risks of financial crime to the Australian financial and payments networks extremely seriously," a spokesperson for Sportsbet told Reuters.

The spokesperson also stated: "We are grateful AUSTRAC has acknowledged our efforts to improve our compliance and that our transformation program to further strengthen our compliance with the AML/CTF Act is well underway.