Serious regulatory failures have been exposed with the Albanese Government’s national gambling self exclusion scheme Betstop, following more than 500 breaches involving the betting giant Entain, the parent company of Ladbrokes and Neds.
The Australian Media and Communications Authority (ACMA) found self excluded Australians were able to continue gambling, retain active betting accounts and, in some cases, keep wagering for more than a year after registering with BetStop because of failures in Entain’s systems and identity checks.
However, as revealed today, ACMA took so long to investigate Entain’s breaches that it could not fine the betting giant within the required 12-month period.
This regulatory failure makes a mockery of repeated public assurances by Communications Minister Anika Wells that BetStop was “making a meaningful difference” and helping Australians “regain control” of their gambling addiction.*
While Anika Wells was publicly praising BetStop as a trusted safeguard, the system was already failing vulnerable Australians it was specifically designed to protect.
In the face of this delayed enforcement action, the minister misled Australians about Betstop’s deficiencies.
Serious questions must also be asked of ACMA.
If the regulator believed it lacked sufficient powers to properly enforce BetStop, it had an obligation to say so publicly and immediately. Instead, vulnerable Australians were left exposed while breaches mounted across the wagering industry.
The fact that more than 500 breaches by Entain have resulted only in a court enforceable undertaking is an astonishingly weak response.
Such an undertaking is little more than a slap on the wrist for a major wagering company accused of allowing self excluded Australians to continue gambling for months, and in some cases more than a year.
BetStop was supposed to be the last line of defence for Australians battling gambling addiction.
Instead, on Labor’s watch, vulnerable Australians were exposed to further gambling harm while Anika Wells continued to tell the public the scheme was working.
The Albanese government cannot escape responsibility for this debacle.
When a national protection scheme fails this badly, the minister and the regulator must both be held accountable.