A New Zealand businessman deposited and withdrew millions of dollars in betting accounts without proper checks, says an Australian watchdog, alleging potential money laundering.

The Australian subsidiary of the offshore company operating the TAB allegedly failed to gather sufficient information about a New Zealander who deposited nearly $15 million into his sports betting accounts.

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac) has alleged Entain Australia failed to implement proper checks on the sources of some of its big spenders.

The British bookmaking giant behind Ladbrokes and Neds allegedly failed to cut off a customer who punted more than $1 million in a single year despite knowing an internationally wanted criminal suspected of trafficking drugs had transferred money into his bank account.

Entain has co-operated fully with AUSTRAC throughout its investigation, and in December 2022 commenced a programme of further enhancements to its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (“AML and CTF”) systems and processes.

Stella David, Interim Chief Executive of Entain, commented: “We are taking these allegations extremely seriously and continue to fully co-operate with AUSTRAC.

“We also remain focused on continuing to enhance Entain Australia’s AML and CTF compliance arrangements. We expect these enhancements to be fully implemented by June 2025, in line with the plan communicated to AUSTRAC.

“We are committed to keeping financial crime out of gambling and continue to play our part in supporting a well-regulated and compliant sector for our customers, stakeholders and the wider community.”