Australia: gambling firms quizzed over blocking of winning players

Public hearings have begun in Australia’s parliamentary inquiry into online gambling and its impact.

Australia.- The House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs has today (April 4) begun holding public hearings as part of its inquiry into online gambling and its impacts. In the first session, evidence was presented suggesting that some online gambling companies reduced maximum bets or blocked access when gamblers were on a successful run.

The chair of the Committee, Peta Murphy MP, claimed to know someone personally who had experienced this treatment. She asked SportsBet and Entain, the parent company of Ladbrokes and Neds, about the issue at a hearing in Canberra. 

According to ABC, SportsBet CEO Barni Evans said customers were blocked only in very specific cases, for example, if the customer acts with information that the rest of the market lacks or if their behaviour affects other customer’s experience.

The CEO of Entain, Steven Lang, has told the hearing that out of 698,000 active customers in 2022, 176,000 had made money. In other events, he conceded that bets may be limited.

Nick Minchin, chair of the Responsible Wagering Australia lobby group that covers much of the industry, said blocking winning gamblers was not industry practice but that “inevitably there will be occasions where a customer is excluded.”

The CEOs of the AFL and NRL also appeared before the committee. The Coalition of Major Participation and Professional Sports, which includes the NRL and AFL, criticised calls for regulatory change, arguing that existing regulations were appropriate. 

Three weeks ago, AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan expressed sympathy with fans who were frustrated by betting ads in an interview on Melbourne radio station 3AW. Today, he sought to clarify those remarks, citing time pressures in that interview. He said betting inducements were the problem, not general brand advertising.

The NRL’s CEO, Andrew Abdo, said he was open to tweaks to regulation but he wasn’t in a position to make suggestions over exactly where, for example, advertising restrictions could be adjusted. “Things change, and we are open to listening, learning, absorbing the feedback here, but provided it’s done in a balanced way,” he said.

CEO of the Australian Banking Association, Anna Bligh, told the committee that 500,000 Australians had asked their banks to block their gambling expenditure using a “self-veto.”

The inquiry is expected to deliver its recommendations by the middle of the year. The recommendations could have far-reaching implications for the online gambling industry in Australia, with some advocating for tighter regulation to protect vulnerable gamblers. 

See also: Regulator raises concerns over Australian gambling self-exclusion register