bet365 to overhaul AML systems under AUSTRAC undertaking

• bet365 has entered a legally binding enforceable undertaking with AUSTRAC over anti-money laundering failures.
• The order follows a formal enforcement investigation opened in March 2024 and an external audit.
• bet365 faces a December 2026 progress report and mid-2027 final audit deadline, per The Straight.

AUSTRAC, Australia’s financial intelligence agency, has secured a legally binding enforceable undertaking from bet365 to overhaul its anti-money laundering systems, after identifying serious gaps in how the operator assesses risk and reports suspicious activity.

bet365, legally registered as Hillside (Australia New Media) Pty Limited, entered the undertaking with the regulator this week.

Rebuilding the risk model

The undertaking requires bet365 to redesign its risk assessment framework from the ground up, underpinned by a clear, documented methodology. The company must also improve its change management processes so new products and features are properly assessed for money laundering risk before launch.

AUSTRAC has further ordered enhancements to bet365’s customer risk assessment models, alongside stronger systems for identifying and reporting suspicious transactions as risks evolve.

Breaches carry civil penalty consequences under both the undertaking and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006. AUSTRAC said the minimum standards set for bet365 reflect its expectations for all reporting entities across the sector.

Brendan Thomas, CEO of AUSTRAC, said:

“Gambling businesses pose an inherent money laundering risk and we are focusing on the risks to the Australian economy from money laundering through this sector.”

Thomas added that fast-moving, anonymous digital transactions leave the sector exposed to exploitation.

“The gambling industry processes large volumes of money at high speed, often through anonymous digital channels. This creates opportunities criminals look to exploit. This means businesses need to continuously improve their systems to assess risks and monitor for suspicious activity because when controls fall behind, the consequences extend beyond a single company.”

Years in the making

The case traces back to concerns AUSTRAC identified in bet365’s conduct between July 2016 and June 2020. The regulator directed the company to appoint an external auditor in November 2022, with that review delivered in 2023.

A formal enforcement investigation into Hillside followed in March 2024, the first such probe publicly announced since Thomas became CEO in January 2024.

According to The Straight, bet365 also commissioned its own independent review, provided to AUSTRAC in February 2025, which reinforced concerns that the operator’s AML/CTF program did not meet legislative requirements.

The Straight further reports bet365, which is British-owned and holds an estimated 5 to 10 percent of the Australian betting market, must submit a progress report to AUSTRAC by December 31, 2026, with a final auditor’s report confirming remediation due by mid-2027. These specific dates and the market-share figure have not appeared in AUSTRAC’s own release.

Regulator on offensive

bet365 is one of several corporate bookmakers caught up in AUSTRAC’s widening compliance sweep.

The regulator is pursuing Federal Court action against Entain Group over alleged AML/CTF failures, a case distinct from the BetStop breach matter involving more than 500 self-exclusion failures across its Ladbrokes and Neds brands. It is also investigating Tabcorp over separate AML/CTF concerns, a probe that remains open.

Sportsbet took a different path from the same starting point. AUSTRAC ordered external audits of both Sportsbet and bet365 in November 2022, but accepted an enforceable undertaking from Sportsbet in May 2024, covering five key areas of its AML/CTF program.

AUSTRAC confirmed that undertaking was completed just days before the bet365 announcement, after an independent auditor verified the remediation had been implemented.

bet365 was not extended the same option. It moved from audit straight to an enforcement investigation, and now to a binding undertaking with a multi-year remediation timeline attached. That divergence has drawn attention from compliance lawyers watching how the regulator treats operators differently once an audit process concludes.

The bet365 case sets a marker for how AUSTRAC intends to police the corporate bookmaker sector as it works through a queue of post-audit enforcement decisions. With Tabcorp’s probe still active and the Entain litigation ongoing, operators now have a sharper sense of the standard the regulator expects, and the cost of falling short of it.