Entain has filed a defence against the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC)'s civil action claim against it.
The claim found the operator allowed its high-risk customers to spend a total of $152m+ without proper checks and balances in place from as far back as 2020.
The operator would also admit its previous anti-money laundering program failed to 'meet expectations' from December 2018 to August 2024, but plans to fight AUSTRAC's claim in court if required.
"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," Entain Australia & New Zealand CEO Andrew Vouris said.
"We've acknowledged our shortcomings, taken responsibility and spent the last two years learning from them and fixing them. Entain has fundamentally transformed its approach to compliance and now operates a market-leading program, underpinned by a compliance-first culture - to 'win, but not at all costs'."
Entain currently operates the Ladbrokes and Neds brands in Australia and recently increased its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) staffing by "a factor of 10."
The operator stated its recently invested tens of millions of dollars in new systems and technology to help alleviate further issues, having also pointed to enhanced governance, controls, processes and oversight of risks, as well as a new leadership team put in place.
Entain claimed it closed the 17 high-risk accounts found within AUSTRAC's investigation prior to legal proceedings commencing, but could still face hundreds of millions of dollars in fines if the court were to side with the regulator.
AUSTRAC's civil action claim represents the first time the regulator has brought penalty proceedings against operators conducting business in the online sector, and may also mark the first legal test for the country's AML/CTF Act from an online betting perspective.
AUSTRAC had originally described Entain as a "high-risk remittance provider," but dropped a significant portion of its case given the regulator's own statutes fail to mention wagering operators within such a category.
The operator named Stella David as its permanent CEO on April 29 following the resignation of Gavin Isaacs in February, with David having served in the Interim CEO role until her full appointment
