One of Australia’s most prominent gambling organizations, the Mounties Group, is under intense legal fire after being accused of failing to uphold anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) obligations. The regulator AUSTRAC has taken the club to Federal Court, marking yet another high-profile escalation in Australia’s crackdown on compliance in the gambling sector.
Mounties operates ten venues across New South Wales and runs around 1,400 poker machines—a major source of revenue and potential money-laundering risk. According to AUSTRAC, the club has fallen dangerously short in identifying and mitigating those risks. Core accusations include the absence of tailored risk assessments, failure to implement transaction monitoring that fits the nature of its business, and poor oversight of customers who pose a higher financial crime risk.
What’s particularly alarming is the club’s heavy reliance on an outsourced AML/CTF provider, BETSAFE. Rather than developing internal safeguards, Mounties delegated significant compliance responsibilities without exercising adequate control. AUSTRAC emphasized that while outsourcing is permissible, it doesn’t free the business from legal accountability. Compliance must still be owned internally, especially for high-volume, high-cash industries like gambling.
Another red flag raised in the case was the lack of staff training and the failure to independently review the effectiveness of the AML program. AUSTRAC argues that these gaps could allow criminals to exploit the club’s venues to clean illicit funds without being detected.
The consequences could be severe. If the court agrees with AUSTRAC’s findings, Mounties could face major financial penalties and long-term damage to its reputation. The message regulators are sending is loud and clear: size and success come with proportional responsibility, especially when you’re operating in a sector that’s a known magnet for financial crime.
Mounties is now preparing its legal response. But the case is already sending ripples across Australia’s gambling industry. With Crown Resorts and other casinos having faced massive fines in recent years, this legal action signals that mid-tier operators are just as accountable as the giants.
This is not just a regulatory slap—it’s a warning to every gambling operator in the country. Weak compliance is no longer an option. Either invest in serious internal controls, or be prepared to defend your failures in court
