Bankstown Sports Audit Signals AUSTRAC’s Poker Machine Crackdown
Australia’s financial intelligence agency ordered Bankstown District Sports Club to appoint an independent auditor after it identified concerns around the club’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing controls. AUSTRAC issued the order under section 162 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006.
The Sydney-based club group operates several venues: Bankstown Sports Club, The Acres Club, Bankstown Sports Bowls, Birrong Sports, Bankstown Golf Club, Baulkham Hills Sports and Auburn Tennis Club.
The audit will test whether the club has an effective risk-based AML/CTF programme in place. The auditor will also assess customer risk processes, service delivery risks and systems to identify suspicious behaviour linked to money laundering or terrorism financing.
AUSTRAC set the audit scope. Bankstown District Sports Club will cover the cost. The findings will inform the regulator on whether further action is required.
AUSTRAC Acting CEO Katie Miller said poker machines remain a clear money laundering risk for clubs and pubs.”Poker machines can be exploited by criminals to turn cash into apparently legitimate winnings, especially where controls are weak or warning signs are missed,” Miller said.
She added that criminals may insert cash into poker machines, conduct little or no genuine play and then cash out funds that appear to be legitimate winnings.
The intervention follows AUSTRAC’s wider enforcement activity across the sector. The agency has civil penalty proceedings against Mount Pritchard District and Community Club (Mounties), an enforceable undertaking with Sportsbet and an enforcement investigation into Tabcorp.
Miller acknowledged that clubs and pubs serve an important community function but said they also operate in a high-risk environment that requires stronger controls across the sector. “Our job is to lift standards across the sector so criminal groups can’t use gambling venues to move or disguise illicit funds.”
Bankstown District Sports Club confirmed it takes its AML/CTF obligations seriously and will cooperate with AUSTRAC throughout the audit process.
TGJ Take
AUSTRAC has made clear that land-based gambling compliance is no longer a box-tick exercise for clubs with poker machines. For Australian operators, the pressure point is not only suspicious transaction reports but proof that risk controls work in practice. Clubs with large cash volumes should expect closer scrutiny of customer behaviour, machine play patterns and internal escalation procedures. Suppliers that support venue AML and transaction monitoring may see demand rise as clubs move to demonstrate compliance before regulators force the issue.
