AUSTRALIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jamie Nettleton, Samuel Gauci and James Dommett, Addisons
The Star, is still ongoing before the Federal Court of Australia. AUSTRAC’s review of online wagering operators and their compliance with the AML/CTF Laws that com- menced in 2022 is ongoing. The status of each case publicised at the date of writing of this chapter is as follows. • Entain Australia ‒ the investigation that commenced in September 2022 has resulted in AUSTRAC com- mencing civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Entain. These proceed- ings were filed on 16 December 2024. Serious and systemic non-compliance with the AML/CTF Laws by Entain has been alleged by AUSTRAC. The case is ongoing. • Sportsbet ‒ an enforceable undertaking has been given to AUSTRAC. The enforceable undertaking binds Sportsbet to an ongoing remedial plan to improve its AML/CTF programme, including the requirement for Sportsbet to appoint an auditor that is tasked with monitoring Sportsbet’s progress with the remediation plan and providing periodic reports to AUSTRAC. • bet365 ‒ the bet365 enforcement investigation commenced by AUSTRAC in March 2024 is ongo- ing. The principal focus of AUSTRAC in the gambling sec- tor in 2025 has been to review compliance with the AML/CTF Laws by gambling venues (namely pubs and clubs) in Australia. This follows AUSTRAC’s 2024 Money Laundering National Risk Assessment, which identified that the pubs and clubs sector was “medium risk”, but particularly susceptible to the risk of money laundering due to the number of cash transactions. AUSTRAC’s focus on the pubs and clubs sector resulted in Federal Court of Australia proceedings being initiated in July 2025 against Mount Pritchard District and Community Club (“Mounties”). AUSTRAC alleges serious and systemic non-compliance by Mounties with the AML/CTF Laws. Developments in the foregoing enforcement actions are anticipated in the coming months.
The Independent Panel on Gaming Reform, estab- lished by the New South Wales (NSW) government in July 2023, was tasked with advising the NSW gov- ernment in relation to the conduct of cashless gam- ing trials in hotels and clubs in NSW, gaming reform implementation and providing recommendations for the use of funds allocated to the harm minimisation fund. The Independent Panel on Gaming Reform pub- lished its report in November 2024. Amongst the rec- ommendations made in its report was that cashless gaming technology was not currently acceptable to patrons in venues. Recommendations were made for improvements to be adopted before mandatory cash- less gaming was introduced. The NSW government introduced, with effect from 1 July 2024, a suite of responsible gambling measures aimed at the use of gaming machines in hotels and clubs. In the first quarter of 2025, it conducted con- sultation on the implementation of facial recognition technology. The New Zealand (NZ) government proposes the introduction of a regulatory regime to license online casino operators to provide services to customers located in NZ. The Online Casino Gambling Bill (the “NZ Online Casino Bill”) was tabled in the NZ Parlia- ment on 29 June 2025. At the date of writing, the NZ Online Casino Bill is scheduled for its Second Reading in Parliament. The NZ Parliamentary Governance and Administration Committee (the “Select Committee”) conducted a public consultation on the NZ Online Casino Bill and presented its report to the NZ Parlia- ment on 4 December 2025. The regulatory regime is anticipated to come into effect in 2026. A number of these recent changes are discussed in further detail here.
AUSTRAC Proceedings The Star proceedings
The civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia commenced by AUSTRAC on 30 November 2022 against The Star Pty Limited and The Star Enter- tainment QLD Limited (the “Star Entities”) for alleged breaches of the AML/CTF Laws are ongoing.
35 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook