Australian online betting brand Sportsbet has acknowledged its past failures in addressing financial crime and safeguarding the integrity of major sporting codes.
In an address at the Regulating the Game conference in Sydney, Sportsbet CEO Barni Evans admitted the company had been slow to recognise its responsibilities in preventing financial crime, and had not done enough to assist sporting bodies in identifying integrity threats.
Speaking to industry executives, Evans conceded that Sportsbet “forgot to do some grownup things” and had “stuffed a lot of things up,” particularly regarding the aggressive nature of its advertising campaigns.
Evans also acknowledged that the company had not fully understood its obligations to protect Australians from financial and organised crime.
He stated that while these responsibilities were not fully appreciated five years ago, they are now taken seriously by the Flutter Entertainment-owned brand.
The comments follow an enforceable undertaking issued in May 2024 by Australia’s financial intelligence agency, requiring Sportsbet to improve its compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) laws.
This move was part of a broader crackdown on betting operators to ensure they are not inadvertently facilitating illicit financial activities.
Evans’ admission highlights the difficulties online gambling companies face in monitoring suspicious transactions.
While betting operators are required to report potential illegal activity to authorities, their effectiveness in doing so has often been questioned.
Integrity threats to major sports
Evans also addressed Sportsbet’s past failures in notifying sporting bodies about potentially problematic betting transactions.
He admitted that the company had initially done “a terrible job” in alerting leagues and regulators to transactions that could indicate match-fixing or insider betting.
His remarks coincide with recent revelations about weaknesses in the Australian Football League’s (AFL) integrity system.
Earlier this month, the AFL admitted struggling to detect whether players, coaches, or staff were using inside information to manipulate betting markets — an issue that poses a significant threat to the integrity of professional sports.
The failure of betting operators to work closely with sporting bodies has been a persistent concern.
While leagues have integrity units to monitor gambling patterns, they often rely on bookmakers to provide timely and detailed reports of suspicious activity.
Evans’ comments suggest Sportsbet recognises the need to improve its cooperation with leagues to prevent corruption and safeguard the fairness of sporting competitions.
Delay in national self-exclusion scheme
Another issue Evans addressed was the significant delay in implementing a national self-exclusion register for problem gamblers.
He criticised the gambling industry and government agencies for taking seven years to launch the scheme, which allows individuals to voluntarily ban themselves from all licensed online betting platforms.
“No single person is responsible for that … but our ecosystem failed,” Evans said. “We might have allowed ourselves a couple of years to get the thing going, as it is an important thing to get right. But surely, seven years, we should hang our heads at the amount of time.”
The national register was first proposed in 2018 as a measure to help problem gamblers, but it was not officially launched until August 2023.
The delay has been widely criticised, with advocates arguing that thousands of Australians continued to suffer from gambling addiction while policymakers and industry stakeholders debated its implementation.
The prolonged rollout of the exclusion scheme reflects broader concerns about the effectiveness of Australia’s gambling regulations.
While individual betting companies offer their own self-exclusion options, a unified national system was seen as necessary to prevent individuals from circumventing restrictions by switching to different operators.
Regulatory environment falls short
Evans also reflected on the role of gambling advertising in shaping public perception of the industry. He expressed sympathy for bookmaker Tom Waterhouse, who was heavily criticised for his sports betting advertisements in 2013.
According to Evans, the issue was not Waterhouse’s actions but rather the broader regulatory environment, which failed to set clear boundaries on acceptable gambling advertising.
He suggested that the industry as a whole had not properly engaged with the community to understand what level of advertising was appropriate.
This acknowledgment comes amid ongoing debates about the role of gambling sponsorships in Australian sports and the prevalence of betting advertisements on free-to-air television.
Critics argue that widespread gambling promotions normalise betting, particularly among younger audiences, and contribute to rising problem gambling rates.
Sportsbet recently announced it won’t air live betting odds during broadcasts of the National Rugby League or AFL in response to the growing outcry toward gambling and betting ads.
Avoid the traps
Evans also criticised market competitor Tabcorp for lobbying the government to raise Point of Consumption taxes on Australia’s corporate bookmakers, calling the move “destructive” for the industry and detrimental to customers.
He argued that the tax hikes have not only hurt legal operators but have also contributed to the growing presence of illegal offshore betting platforms, which he says now account for approximately 15% of Australia’s sports betting market.
Former Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) chief Michael Phelan agreed.
Also participating in the conference, he cautioned against excessive regulation and taxation of the nation’s gambling industry, warning that such measures are increasingly driving players toward illegal operators.
Phelan — who led the ACIC from 2017 to 2022 — highlighted growing evidence that stringent controls on casinos and higher taxes on online gaming platforms are having unintended consequences.
He argued that these policies are not only placing pressure on legal operators but also creating opportunities for organised crime and offshore gambling markets to thrive.
Drawing from his experience at the ACIC, Phelan emphasised that law enforcement agencies require transparency in the gambling sector to effectively combat criminal activities.
He pointed to the past influence of foreign-based junkets and domestic crime groups within Australia’s land-based casinos as an example of the risks posed by an unregulated market.
To counteract this, he urged industry stakeholders to work together to maintain a sustainable gambling environment, ensuring licensed operators remain competitive while minimising the appeal of illicit alternatives.