Ladbrokes Australia fined nearly $80,000 for AML and social responsibility breaches  

Regulation

Ladbrokes Australia has been fined nearly $80,000 for serious breaches of its licence and failing to limit damage caused by Gavin Fineff, a financial adviser who stole millions of dollars from his clients to service his gambling addiction.

Gavin Fineff, turned over $80 million and lost $8 million of it – his own and other people’s money – in just a few years. While he was losing millions, he was rewarded as a VIP customer by multiple gaming operators, none of whom made inquiries about the source of his funds. The victims of his crimes never got their money back.

Michael O’Connell, a former commissioner for victims’ rights in South Australia, says restitution orders made on people convicted of gambling-related fraud and other dishonesty offences are, for the vast majority of people, “empty promises”.

“Even if there are attempts to satisfy them, the sums returned don’t match the sum of the actual loss and harm that the victim has suffered – such as the pain, the anguish, the emotional and psychological effects,” he says.

RECOMMENDED