Entain PLC on Monday said that the Australian anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulator has opened a civil penalty proceedings case against its local subsidiary.

The proceedings against Entain Group Pty Ltd, the group’s subsidiary in Australia, relate to alleged contraventions of the Australian Anti-Money laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006.

Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre Chief Executive Brendan Thomas said the agency considers 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.’

Entain, which owns the Ladbrokes and Corals betting chains, said it has co-operated fully throughout its investigation, and in December 2022 commenced a programme of enhancements to Entain Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing systems and processes. This programme, as communicated to Austrac, is due to be completed in June 2025.

The firm said while outcome of the proceedings is ‘uncertain’, it may result in a penalty being levied which could be ‘potentially material’. Proceedings may take some time, the firm added.

Entain Chief Executive Gavin Isaacs said the company takes the allegations ‘extremely seriously’.

‘We have co-operated fully with Austrac throughout its investigation and we are implementing further enhancements to Entain Australia’s AML and CTF compliance arrangements. Whilst we still have some further improvements to make, we expect these to be implemented in line with the plan we communicated to Austrac in 2023.’

Shares in Entain were 5.0% lower in London on Monday at 774.56 pence each. It was the biggest faller in the FTSE 100 which was down 0.2%.

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