Land-based casinos accused of money laundering
Casinos in Australia Fight Allegations of Money Laundering
In recent months, casino fans have been guaranteed to follow the allegations against Crown casinos. The many negative headlines surrounding the Australian casino were hard to miss.
But now, other Australian casinos are under fire and have to defend themselves against allegations of money laundering.
Star Entertainment Defends Itself Against Accusations
The gambling provider Star Entertainment also has to defend itself against accusations. The Star Casino Sydney branch, in particular, is under fire. Interestingly, the allegations refer to 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019.
Moreover, it is only a matter of a few incidents of money laundering. Thus, the casino is accused of having accepted and served high-risk customers. These people would be known, which is why Star Entertainment cannot make excuses in this case.
It is possible that these customers could have been served because there was a breach of due diligence. According to the management of Star Casino, the company would do everything to prevent money laundering. For this reason, the company has permanently attached great importance to close cooperation with AUSTRAC.
AUSTRAC is the abbreviation for Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre and means nothing else than a financial intelligence agency. The government runs it. This close cooperation could be why, unlike Crown, Star Entertainment has not yet been fined.
SkyCity Entertainment also Affected
Besides Crown and Star Entertainment, SkyCity Entertainment is also accused of money laundering. This group reacts similarly to Star Entertainment and is lucky that only one casino is affected: SkyCity Adelaide.
At this casino, it appears that customer due diligence has been breached, and there may be issues with maintaining the AML/CTF program. This company positions itself like Star Entertainment and publicly states that it would always prevent money laundering.
Likewise, it is confirmed that cooperation with the authorities is desired and has always been carried out. Thus, the gambling provider reacts so that this is probably an isolated case, which, however, would not be usual for the group.
The ongoing investigations will sooner or later reveal whether this is true. This company has not yet been sanctioned either, but that could still come.
Australia has been fighting money laundering and other financial crimes for some time and currently employs 1200 people. The investment is now $800 million. Interestingly, the investigation also involves the National Bank NAB. The AUSTRAC is also said to be investigating the matter.
Crown had to Accept Considerable Penalties
Crown is so far the only casino that has received severe penalties. The license for the newly built casino in Barangaroo was revoked. Because the construction cost several million dollars, this is a very harsh penalty.
In addition, the management was to be restructured. As a result of this demand, Ken Benton had withdrawn.
In the investigation, Crown, like the other two corporations, had denied everything. Gradually, their own mistakes were admitted. This led to closer cooperation with the authorities, and the company was able to rehabilitate itself a little.
If things continue to go well at Crown, the longed-for license could soon be issued.
Are Online Casinos Safer than Local Casinos?
Many people wonder why money laundering can occur at all in local casinos. The answer is straightforward: the casinos do not check who enters them. Furthermore, they do not check where the wagered money comes from. This procedure is also completely standard.
However, one behavior justifies the accusation of money laundering: when the casinos accept cash when betting but pay out the winnings by bank transfer. Thanks to this simple trick, money laundering is carried out.
This cannot happen in an online casino. There, every new customer has to undergo verification. This is how the identity is checked. However, it would also be possible to use another person’s data. However, what is not possible is to have the winnings paid out to another account.
Usually, online casinos transfer the winnings in the same way as they were deposited. In the case of very high winnings, a new verification is carried out.
Conclusion
All this leads to an online casino being considered safe.
The only important thing is that a regulatory authority has licensed the gambling provider.
In these cases, players take no risk and enjoy the diverse range of games, which consists of pokies and casino games.