Entain Forced Into Remediation by ACMA After Self-Exclusion Breaches Found

ACMA, Australia’s Communications and Media Authority, has placed Entain under a legally binding remediation program after finding that its Ladbrokes and Neds brands violated national self-exclusion regulations on more than 500 occasions.

What Did ACMA’s Investigation Find?

The regulator determined that Entain’s systems did not reliably identify and link accounts belonging to self-excluded individuals. As a result, some accounts stayed active even though the customers were listed on BetStop, Australia’s National Self-Exclusion Register. In one instance, a self-excluded user continued gambling for over a year because one of their accounts had not been tied to their exclusion status.

Entain was also found to have enabled self-excluded individuals to open new accounts, in breach of self-exclusion rules. These rules require that once a person is registered with BetStop, they must be prevented from creating new accounts with any licensed wagering operator in the country. 

Speaking of the register, ACMA also found that certain BetStop registrants were able to open new wagering accounts after opting out. Gaps in Entain’s onboarding and customer verification processes meant that variations in user details, such as names and email addresses, were not consistently picked up by its matching systems. Furthermore, the investigation revealed that Entain had not adequately promoted BetStop through customer communications, including emails and text messages, as required by law.

Entain isn’t the only actor that ACMA has been going after in recent times. Just a month ago, for example, the Authority began investigating streamers and influencers suspected of promoting illegal gambling websites and brands.

What Happens Next?

Following the investigation, Entain has entered into an 18-month court-enforceable remediation. Under this agreement, the company must commission an independent review of its compliance systems and make any required improvements based on the findings. 

The ACMA noted that although no infringement notice was issued, non-compliance with the undertaking could result in court-imposed financial penalties. Entain has committed to strengthening its identity verification and account-matching systems, along with adding extra manual review procedures when potential matches are flagged.

ACMA member Carolyn Lidgerwood highlighted the seriousness of the issue, stating that individuals who register for self-exclusion should not be able to open new accounts with any licensed wagering service in Australia. The breach also highlights the ongoing challenges operators face in maintaining strong protections for self-excluded customers.

In other news regarding Entain, the betting giant recently announced that Eminence Capital founder Ricky Sandler has stepped down as a non-executive director from the company’s board due to the termination of the operator’s agreement with the asset management firm.