Austrac targets far north casinos’ money laundering and anti-terrorism controls
Two northern Australian casinos have been ordered by financial crimes watchdog Austrac to appoint external auditors over concerns anti-money laundering controls aren’t strong enough.
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Austrac has levelled an anti-money laundering blitz at the gambling sector amid growing fears criminals may be targeting smaller casinos following the introduction of tighter controls at larger operators Crown and Star Entertainment.
The financial crimes watchdog has ordered Ville Resort-Casino in Townsville and Darwin’s Mindil Beach Casino Resort to carry out independent audits after it identified “potential gaps and deficiencies” in their anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing controls (AML/CTF) oversight.
The Ville is owned by billionaire and Computershare founder Chris Morris, while Mindil Beach is controlled by American giant Delaware North.
Austrac national manager regulatory operations Bradley Brown said criminals may “seek to find the weakest link in the chain” as larger casinos increased surveillance of nefarious activities including money laundering.
“That’s not saying that these casinos are that (the weakest link) but displacement can occur across a whole range of different industry sectors,” said Mr Brown.
He said the location of the casinos close to Asian markets did not necessarily add to risk but should be considered by the operators in determining their oversight of suspicious activity. “Geography is absolutely an element of risk that businesses that need to consider,” he said. “I’m going to say it’s not absolutely specific to those locations obviously. Again, if you’re looking at the larger casinos, people can get on a plane to Sydney and Melbourne just as they can go to Darwin or Cairns or Townsville.
“But each business must consider the risk of the customers that they have and some of those customers will be domestic and some of their customers will be international.”
Austrac chief executive Brendan Thomas said the far-north casinos operated gaming machines and table games which came with an elevated risk.
“Without adequate controls and monitoring, they can be used for money laundering,” Mr Thomas said. “Although they may be smaller than Crown and Star, like all gambling venues The Ville and Mindil Beach face heightened risk of exploitation by criminals.”
The action comes as Austrac is due to launch an action against Star in the Federal Court next week that could result in fine of $300m for lax money laundering controls.
“Austrac is serious about driving illicit money out of the gambling industry in Australia and making sure businesses that facilitate gambling have strong money laundering controls,” Mr Thomas said. “This action follows major actions we have taken against other casinos, Crown Resorts, Sky City, and The Star and online bookmakers Entain, Sportsbet and Bet365.”
In 2023, Crown Melbourne and Crown Perth were ordered by the Federal Court to pay a $450m penalty over two years after Austrac launched civil penalty proceedings against them for breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act.
“My message to boards and CEOs of gambling businesses, including pubs and clubs with gaming machines, is to make sure you comply with Australian money laundering laws and take your responsibility to tackle money laundering seriously,” said Mr Thomas. “We are watching and we will take further action. Money laundering harms our economy and it allows criminals to profit from some of the most awful crimes – we need to stamp it out.”
He said the auditors would assess both businesses’ compliance and report back to Austrac on whether each casino was maintaining a program that “identifies, mitigates and manages” money laundering and terrorism financing risks, and appropriately monitors customers.
“Businesses should not be making it easy for criminals to use them for illicit purposes,” Mr Thomas said.
“If you’re properly managing a compliant AML/CTF program, it is going to deter criminal behaviour and help us drive criminal activity out of your industry.”
Mindil Beach Casino Resort general manager Brad Morgan said the business took its regulatory and harm-minimisation obligations seriously.
“Mindil Beach Casino Resort has, and will continue to, engage closely and constructively with territory and federal regulators,” he said.
“Mindil Beach Casino Resort welcomes the opportunity now to collaborate with Austrac in Mindil Beach Casino Resort’s continuous pursuit of regulatory compliance and, where required, improvement.”
A spokeswoman for The Ville confirmed the business would fully co-operate with Austrac.
“The Ville Resort – Casino takes its obligations as a responsible casino operator incredibly seriously, particularly in relation to its key responsibilities in detecting and preventing financial crime in our community,” she said.
“The Ville has a comprehensive program in place to manage and mitigate risks relating to money laundering and terrorism financing. That program has also recently undergone substantial and industry leading uplift for a regional casino operator of our size and scale.”
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Originally published as Austrac targets far north casinos’ money laundering and anti-terrorism controls
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