Andrew Vouris, CEO of Entain Australia and New Zealand, has put Australian banks in the firing line over their handling of transactions to illegal offshore gambling sites. Speaking at the Regulating the Game conference in Sydney this week, Vouris argued that financial institutions need to do far more to monitor and flag suspicious payments flowing to unlicensed operators.

The comments come as offshore sites continue to target Australian punters in growing numbers. Many operate from jurisdictions like Curaçao and Anjouan. Vouris pointed out a glaring inconsistency: licensed operators face strict real-time monitoring requirements, but banks processing the same customers’ transactions face no such obligations.

“The banks must know that some of these transactions that are occurring in cash from their customers are going to illegal offshore gaming and wagering operators and they need to be held to the same standard that the regulated wagering operators are here in Australia,” Vouris said.

Whack-a-Mole With Website Blocks

Vouris credited the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for its efforts in blocking offshore sites but acknowledged the limitations of the current approach. He used Royal Reels Casino as an example of the problem: “They’re up to ‘Royal Reels number 189.com’. So, we’ve shut down 188 of them but it’s a continuous merry-go-round.”

The Entain chief called for prosecution of directors behind these operations rather than simply playing domain name whack-a-mole. These operators show “zero regard to problem gambling and harm minimization” while deliberately targeting Australian customers in an illegal operating environment, he noted.

New Zealand Taking Different Path

Vouris struck a more optimistic tone when discussing New Zealand’s approach. Entain runs the Ladbrokes and Neds sportsbooks in Australia plus the NZ TAB. It recently confirmed it will bid for up to three of the 15 online casino licences under New Zealand’s new Online Casino Gambling Bill.

He described the Kiwi framework as an “opportunity to bring activity back into the light.” That’s a marked contrast to Australia, where legalisation remains off the table. For the Australian market, Vouris said the focus must remain on disrupting offshore operators through better cooperation. Regulators, licensed operators, banks, and technology platforms all need to work together.

Look, it’s a fair point. Licensed operators operate under strict rules. Banks process the payments that bypass those rules. Yet only one side faces consequences for transactions tied to problem gambling. That inconsistency won’t fix itself.

What the team thinks

Philippa Ashworth says:

Vouris is strategically shifting regulatory pressure where it can be most effective, but this also conveniently deflects from licensed operators’ own responsibility to make legal options more competitive. The banking angle is smart commercial positioning, as financial institutions have far more to lose from regulatory scrutiny than offshore operators who are already operating outside the system. What’s missing here is whether Entain and its peers are willing to sacrifice margin to truly compete on product offering, or if they’re simply seeking a government-enforced moat around their licensed position.