Court Date set for AUSTRAC vs ENTAIN November 2026

[Chief Stipe]

Court date set in late 2026 for Entain/AUSTRAC case – The Straight

thestraight.com.au

 

The case brought to the Federal Court by financial regulator AUSTRAC against global wagering giant Entain has been scheduled to begin on November 30, 2026.

While there is still an opportunity for the civil case to be settled via mediation before it reaches the Federal Court hearing, Justice Moore last week ordered that two weeks be set aside for a hearing from November 30 next year.

That would mean that the uncertainty that has hung over Entain’s Australian business, which is headlined by the Ladbrokes and Neds brands, would extend for at least another 12 months, unless the case is resolved beforehand.https://bitofayarn.com

AUSTRAC, which brings the action under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act, must submit its evidence by April 10 with Entain’s evidence submissions not due until August 6.

https://bitofayarn.com

Entain entered its defence to AUSTRAC’s revised statement of claim last month, saying it would be prepared to contest the claims in the Federal Court should a settlement of the matter not be achieved.

Should it go to court, it would be the first time that the AML/CTF Act would be tested by an online betting provider. A previous case in 2017, involving Tabcorp, only involved a contest of the financial penalty, not the finding itself.

https://bitofayarn.com

The Entain action began when AUSTRAC issued its initial application to the Federal Court in December last year.

AUSTRAC chief executive Brendan Thomas said at the time that the agency considered there were systemic failures in Entain’s approach to its AML/CTF obligations.

“AUSTRAC’s proceedings allege that Entain did not develop and maintain a compliant anti-money laundering program and failed to identify and assess the risks it faced. We are alleging this left the company at serious risk of criminal exploitation,” he said.

“Money laundering is often a symptom of serious criminal activity, including fraud, scams and corruption, all of which have equally serious effects on our communities,” he said.

AUSTRAC’s case centres on the use of 17 “high-risk” accounts, after an investigation found Entain allowed thosecustomers to spend more than $152 million without proper checks and balances in place.  https://bitofayarn.com

However, AUSTRAC altered its statement of claim in August, removing references to Entain as a “high-risk remittance provider”. It was discovered that the regulator’s own rules excluded wagering operators from liability in that category. https://bitofayarn.com

Responding to the new statement of claim, Andrew Vouris, chief executive of Entain Australia and New Zealand since June, acknowledged past failings, but said it had followed the external advice it received at the time.

“We sincerely regret that our old program didn’t meet expectations. We followed expert advice at the time but, looking back, we recognise the old program missed the mark,” he said.

“We’ve acknowledged our shortcomings, taken responsibility, and spent the last two years learning from them and fixing them.”

Vouris described Entain’s new approach to compliance as “fundamentally transformed…. underpinned by a compliance-first culture – to “win, but not at all costs”.

Entain faces the possibility of fines in the hundreds of millions plus associated legal costs should it fail in its defence in the Federal Court.

In 2017, Tabcorp was fined $45 million in the Federal Court for breaches of the AML/CTF Act with the penalty and not the charges determined in court.

AUSTRAC has previously brought action to court against Crown, which paid $450 million in penalties, and SkyCity, which paid a $67 million penalty for breaches of the AML/CTF Act.

[curious]

Good to hear that the mediation remains ongoing with 12 months available now to settle matters. I have a hunch that AUSTRAC may be the one to end up with even ore egg on their face here.

Edited 3 hours ago by curious

[Chief Stipe]

41 minutes ago, curious said:

Good to hear that the mediation remains ongoing with 12 months available now to settle matters. I have a hunch that AUSTRAC may be the one to end up with even ore egg on their face here.

Yes they have already taken a couple of hits on this one.  AUSTRAC is funded by their own success and they have already nailed the low hanging fruit.  Eventually they'll start losing legal talent like most Government agencies.