🔒 🔒 What Star’s $260 million AUSTRAC penalty may mean for Entain and Tabcorp

Analysis: Justice Cameron Moore’s $260 million penalty against Star Entertainment on Wednesday will be read closely inside Entain.

In a little over a month, the same Federal Court judge is scheduled to begin hearing AUSTRAC’s case against the Ladbrokes and Neds operator.

The 10-day hearing is set to start on November 30. It is AUSTRAC’s first civil penalty case brought against an online bookmaker, and Justice Moore has now shown how he weighs the factors that will decide it.

AUSTRAC sought $400 million from Star, while the casino operator argued that anything above $100 million would push it into liquidation. Moore settled on $195 million for the Sydney entity and $65 million for Queensland, payable in four equal instalments over 19 months.

“In effect, Star put profit ahead of compliance,” he said.

His reasons make clear Star received a discount.

The casino’s remediation, its financial position and the state regulatory sanctions already imposed for overlapping conduct all counted in its favour.

“But for the State regulatory response to the conduct, including the [previous] levying of significant penalties, the license suspension and the resulting onerous requirements and controls, the penalty for Star would have been higher,” Moore said.

Entain’s case differs in several major areas, but the Star case was seen as a temperature check on the Federal Court’s appetite for punishment.

A result around $100 million would have given Entain confidence that it was in a better position than initially hoped.

A penalty of around $400 million would have sent a shudder through the Australian wagering business and back to corporate HQ in London.

That it landed somewhere in the middle shows there is still uncertainty about the outcome.

Entain held a $100 million provision for a fine at June 30 but noted previous gaming-sector penalties ranging from A$45 million to A$450 million and warned that any penalty “may differ materially from the provision recorded”.

Star’s penalty is 2.6 times that provision, and the company was pleading it could barely afford $100 million.

Entain Australia’s parent reported underlying EBITDA of £479 million for the six months to June, with £0.9 billion in available cash against net debt of £3.599 billion.

Entain Australia has conceded serious historical deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing program before August 2024. Mediation with AUSTRAC began in July 2025, leaving open the possibility of an agreed penalty.

The other aspect is the prospect of punishment as a deterrent. Justice Moore found that the prospect of Star repeating its conduct was “significantly reduced”.

Entain says it has increased its AML/CTF staffing tenfold since the investigation, and Entain Australia and New Zealand chief executive Andrew Vouris has said its old program “missed the mark”.

Tabcorp’s exposure is at an earlier stage. AUSTRAC opened an enforcement investigation in May after a compliance assessment raised serious concerns.

Tabcorp has said all outcomes remain open, including no further action. It has not booked a provision, although its annual report warns penalties “could be significant” if proceedings were brought and contraventions established.

Tabcorp has appointed Paul Jevtovic as chief financial crime officer. Jevtovic led AUSTRAC when it pursued Tabcorp’s earlier case, which ended in a $45 million penalty in 2017. Court proceedings are not the only possible outcome.

Sportsbet’s enforceable undertaking was finalised in July after independent assurance confirmed its remediation.

In July, AUSTRAC announced it has required bet365 to strengthen its anti‑money laundering controls after identifying serious gaps in how it manages risk and reports suspicious activity.

Bet365 entered into a legally binding enforceable undertaking that requires it to overhaul its systems.

“It is important that other entities are sent the message that conduct of the sort engaged in by Star will attract a significant penalty and is not worth the risk,” Moore said in his ruling on Wednesday.