Entain’s been handed an 18-month remediation order by Australia’s Communications and Media Authority. The trigger: over 500 breaches of self-exclusion rules across Ladbrokes and Neds. What we’re really talking about here is systems that simply weren’t built to do what they were supposed to do. Identifying and protecting excluded players. Getting the basics right.

Where the System Failed

ACMA’s investigation pulled back the curtain on a nasty truth. Entain’s account-linking technology couldn’t reliably connect multiple accounts belonging to the same self-excluded person. The result was brutal. Players who’d registered with BetStop, Australia’s National Self-Exclusion Register, kept gambling. Their accounts stayed open. In one particularly bad case, a self-excluded customer gambled for over a year before anyone noticed.

But this goes beyond account matching. Entain let self-excluded individuals open entirely new accounts, which completely defeats the purpose of having a BetStop register in the first place. Variations in name spellings, email addresses, user details. They all slipped through. The company also failed to properly push BetStop through routine communications like emails and SMS, something they’re legally required to do.

The Road Ahead

Entain’s got 18 months to fix this. Under a court-enforceable undertaking, they’ll commission an independent compliance review and implement whatever improvements get recommended. Manual verification procedures will flag potential matches for human eyes to check. Identity verification gets overhauled. Account-matching systems get overhauled.

ACMA hasn’t issued an infringement notice yet, but here’s the threat that matters: breach this undertaking and court-imposed financial penalties follow. The regulator’s stance is crystal clear. Self-excluded players should never be able to open new accounts with any licensed operator in Australia. Full stop.

This sits within ACMA’s bigger push to tighten operator conduct across the board. They’ve been investigating streamers and influencers promoting unlicensed gambling platforms, signalling a more aggressive regulatory approach. The sector’s getting noticed.