Austrac gets a boost amid casino windfall, as pacific bank deals leave government exposed

Two looming fines against Star Entertainment and Entain are expected to bolster the budget, with more money set to be handed to Austrac to fight crime.

Austrac’s fine against the Star Entertainment casino operation is expected to deliver a financial windfall to the government. Picture: David Clark

The Albanese government is set to hand financial crime regulator Austrac a big boost amid expectations it will deliver a financial windfall from a pair of high-profile money-laundering cases.

Deep in the budget papers, the government outlines looming regulatory penalties against Entain – operator of popular gambling platform Ladbrokes – and Star Entertainment, which has ­casinos in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

These two contingent assets are expected to deliver at least $40m or more to the government’s coffers, after charges were issued by Austrac against the two companies in recent years.

Austrac took aim at the two gambling operators, alleging repeated serious breaches of laws aimed at stopping criminals misusing the financial system to clean dirty funds.

Austrac alleges Entain engaged in serious breaches and was non-compliant with anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.

The government is also still banking on a penalty from Star Entertainment, amid speculation that the ASX-listed gaming giant is rapidly approaching insolvency, leaving it unable to pay any potential regulatory penalty.

Star is negotiating its financial future amid takeover interest from Bally’s and a deal for its Queen’s Wharf precinct.

Both cases are currently grinding through the courts, with the government saying the outcome was “unknown”.

This includes “whether any penalties will be imposed by the court and, if so, the quantum of any penalties”.

Austrac, which regulates more than 17,000 firms and people, is set to see a major budget boost in the coming year, with staff numbers at the agency expected to climb following a $63m upgrade.

Staff count at Austrac is projected to climb by 171, as its budget increases to $280m amid a major technology transformation plan.

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission is also expected to receive a funding boost to bankroll its tech projects to upgrade its company registers, after the project was taken off the Australian Taxation Office following a cost blowout on consultants.

ASIC’s budget will rise to $906m in 2026-27, before falling to $779m in 2027-28.

But ASIC, which enforces corporate law, will also receive see a cut to its enforcement budget over the forward estimates, as part of the government’s push to slash spending on external hires.

ASIC will need to cut $8.4m from its budget in the 2028-29 year, which will crimp the agency’s spending on external legal counsel.

This comes as ASIC is preparing several high-profile court battles against corporate Australia, including banking major ANZ.

The government has also revealed its potential exposure to a string of banking deals covering the Pacific and Asia.

A 10-year deal signed with ANZ, backstopping its operations in the Pacific, lands in the budget papers.

In the deal, the government agrees to support ANZ operating in the Pacific, and risks being called on if there is an “unremedied default by a third party on those exposures held by ANZ”.

While its quantum is undetailed, these penalties must be in excess of $20m in one year or $50m over the forward estimates to feature in the budget.

The government has also revealed it has signed Australia up to a $US200m ($321.3m) guarantee with the Asian Development Bank’s Innovation Finance Facility, which would result in the government pick up the cost of a nation defaulting on a project.

This deal is aimed at lending to climate projects across Asia and the Pacific region.