AUSTRALIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jamie Nettleton, Samuel Gauci and James Dommett, Addisons
ing that MintBet had inadequate systems in place to prevent vulnerable individuals from losing control over their gambling. In addition to the monetary penalty, MintBet was required to demonstrate to the regulator the changes it would be making to improve its sys- tems and processes. 7.2 Gambling Management Tools The tools available to players for managing their gam- bling activities are referred to in 7.1 RG Requirements . 8. Anti-Money Laundering (AML) 8.1 AML Legislation The key AML legislation in Australia is the AML/CTF Act. This is supplemented by the Anti-Money Laun- dering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules Instru- ment 2007 (No 1) and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules 2025 (the “AML/ CTF Rules”), which provide further detail in relation to specific requirements under the AML/CTF Act. There have been recent amendments to the AML/CTF Rules, and, following consultation processes, the Anti- Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2024 (the “AML/CTF Amendment Bill”) was introduced into Federal Parliament and received royal assent on 10 December 2024. How- ever, many of the changes will commence on either 31 March 2026 or 1 July 2026. The three main objectives of the AML/CTF Amend- ment Bill are: • to extend the AML/CTF regime to additional ser- vices provided by Tranche 2 entities (eg, lawyers, accountants, trust and company service providers, real estate professionals, and dealers in precious metals and stones); • to modernise the regulation of virtual assets and payments technology; and • to simplify and clarify the AML/CTF regime in order to increase flexibility, reduce regulatory impacts, and support businesses to prevent and detect financial crime.
The AML/CTF Amendment Bill also introduced mate- rial amendments relating to AML/CTF programme requirements, risk assessment requirements, inter - nal AML/CTF policies and initial/ongoing customer due diligence processes, and increases AUSTRAC’s investigative powers. 8.2 AML Requirements Gambling (excluding the provision of a lottery service) is considered a “designated service” under the AML/ CTF Act. As a result, licensed gambling operators are considered “reporting entities” and are subject to obli- gations under the AML/CTF Laws. These include: • enrolling with AUSTRAC; • preparing and implementing an AML/CTF pro- gramme; • adopting risk-based systems and controls for miti- gating and managing money-laundering and terror- ism-financing risks associated with the designated service, including adopting KYC requirements; • reporting suspicious transactions, and certain busi- ness activities and transactions; • keeping records; • submitting annual reports to AUSTRAC; and • staff training. Following changes to Australia’s AML/CTF Laws, which came into effect on 29 September 2023, online wagering operators are required to verify a new cus- tomer prior to providing a designated service. This requires online wagering operators to conduct cus- tomer identity verification prior to opening an account for a new customer. The AML/CTF Act was amended to allow for parties to rely on KYC checks conducted by third parties, on the basis that such checks abide by the requirements pre- sent under the AML/CTF regime. This also applies to KYC procedures conducted by external jurisdictions if the procedure meets all the requirements prescribed under the AML/CTF Rules. AUSTRAC has remained active in its review and enforcement of gambling operators. It has com- menced Federal Court of Australia proceedings and taken other enforcement action, including the initiation
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