The boss of the largest online sports betting operator in Australia and the chair of a parliamentary inquiry that has taken into consideration online gambling in the country have shared some details about the tension in Canberra over whether successful punters are suspended from betting.
The probe has heard evidence that some operators are set to reduce maximum bets or fully suspend gamblers’ access when they are on a successful run.
Peta Murphy, the chair of the House of Representatives committee said that she personally knew someone who had experienced such a treatment, and pursued two of the largest operators in the country – Entain and SportsBet – on the issue at a hearing that took place in Canberra earlier this week.
SportsBet CEO, Barni Evans, shared that the company blocked punters only under very specific circumstances. He explained that a customer could be blocked if the operator believed that they were acting with information that was not available to the rest of the market, and if their behaviour was hurting the market, which means that the experience of other consumers was affected. Although Ms Murphy tried to get more information from him and when she failed to do so, she said that she would accept Mr Evans’ evidence as a confirmation that the gambling operator blocked people who were generating consistent winnings from betting activity.
Previously, Steven Lang from Entain shared that 176,000 out of 698,000 active customers in 2022 had made money, and the gambling operator was required to offer bets to everyone for horse races. Still, he shared that some limitations may be imposed for wagers on other events with less certainty and less liquidity in relation to the markers.
According to the chair of the Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) lobby group, Nick Minchin, suspending winning gamblers was not an overall practice of the industry but there would be some occasions where a certain customer is blocked.
AFL and NRL Bosses Share Opinions on Proposed Gambling Regulation Changes
As reported by Casino Guardian, the House of Representatives committee also heard evidence from the chief executive officers of the Australian Football League (AFL) and the National Rugby League (NRL).
An earlier submission to the ongoing inquiry from the Coalition of Major Participation and Professional Sports, which currently includes both the AFL and the NRL, had objected to a proposed regulatory change, saying that the already existing regulations were suitable and no more restrictions were necessary for ensuring better control over the industry.
Previously, the boss of the Australian Football League, Gillon McLachlan, expressed sympathy with fans that shared negative opinions about betting ads. Now, he argued that so-called enticements could really be a problem, but general and “brand” advertising for betting companies were not an issue. That is why he suggested that any recommendations that the committee is set to make should be balanced. NRL boss Andrew Abdo, on the other hand, shared that he was open to regulatory changes but refused to make any suggestions on the issue.
At the same time, the number of Australian residents who choose to ban themselves from gambling seems to be rising. Anna Bligh, the CEO of the Australian Banking Association (ABA), shared that a total of 500,000 individuals had already asked their banks to suspend their gambling expenditures. The most recent check-in with the ABA members was about half a year ago, so Ms Bligh suggested that the aforementioned number possibly increased further.
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Daniel Williams
