AUSTRAC launches new AML taskforce for gambling industry
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has created a second specialist unit that will investigate money laundering crimes in the gambling sector. The agency created the new team due to the “high risk” noted within the Australian gambling industry.
The AUSTRAC made this known to senior gambling executives at the ‘Regulating the Game’ conference held in Sydney earlier this week. The agency hopes to see the team eradicate the “serious non-compliance” it had identified in several gambling companies operating in the country.
The creation of the new specialist unit follows recent investigations into Sportsbet and Bet365 based on allegations both entities failed to comply with anti money laundering (AML) regulations. AUSTRAC will report its findings very soon.
READ: AUSTRAC investigates Bet365 and Sportsbet over AML concerns
As reasons for forming the second team, Bradley Brown, AUSTRAC’s manager of regulatory operations, told officials present at the conference that the agency needed to get enough manpower to “manage the threat of money laundering and terrorism financing in the Australian financial system, relative to the risks faced by different industry sectors”.
In his address, Brown mentioned the agency’s support for the recent push for cashless gaming in New South Wales. He added that since cash is the major driver of money laundering in Australia, going cashless will go a long way in curbing the crime.
Meanwhile, officials in Australia’s gambling industry have pointed out that cashless gaming is not without its own risks. Crown Resorts’ manager of financial crime risk, Armina Antoniou, explained there is a possibility criminals can access the dark web to buy legitimate ID so they can lay their hands on a digital cashless gaming card.
Antoniou concluded: “These are risks that land-based gaming operators have not had to face so far. A lot of the online wagering operators deal with this every day and I think we need to be very careful that when we go fully cashless, operators are aware of these additional risks.”
