Entain and Sportsbet, two of the largest iGaming operators in Australia, have both submitted written responses to the government’s ongoing inquiry into the nation’s iGaming industry and its harm minimization efforts, which was launched back in September.
The inquiry is being conducted by a parliamentary committee known as the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs.
When the investigation was first launched, operators were encouraged to submit responses for regulatory recommendation—Sportsbet and Entain are the first to respond thus far.
In its response, Entain representatives argued that it is important that any future regulatory changes should be “balanced and clearly evidence-driven,” because if they are not proportionate to the potential harm, it risks “undermining the customer experience and driving growth in the use of black market illegal offshore gambling providers.”
The company also pointed out that it has a robust suite of responsible gaming services already, including its set of “Punter Assist” services as well as its Responsible Gambling Team, which is dedicated to identifying problem behavior. It also pointed out its cooperation with the National Consumer Protection Framework for Online Wagering.
The statement read in part: “Entain has long been a supporter of the (NCPF) and has actively participated in consultation processes and testing procedures to support its roll out. However, we believe it is premature to consider further regulation until these measures have had time to be fully implemented, monitored and their effectiveness reviewed.”
Sportsbet offered similar comments, calling for a “personalized, data-driven approach,” which requires operators to “know their customer, and invest in data analytics that allow for a proper assessment of gambling behavior to facilitate targeted intervention.”
The company also included the following: “At Sportsbet we have three defined areas of focus in our approach to risk identification and intervention with our customers (behavioral, predictive and proactive intervention). We use machine learning to determine problem gambling risk scores for every individual customer on a daily basis. This allows us to monitor our customers’ activity and intervene quickly when we identify customers who may be at risk of developing problems with their gambling.”
