Australia

AUSTRAC CEO Focuses on Gambling Industry Compliance

Published

1 year ago

March 14, 2025

austrac-ceo-focuses-on-gambling-industry-compliance

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AUSTRAC, the anti-money laundering watchdog in Australia, will continue to give a prime focus on the gambling industry and won’t be cautious in taking action against companies that fail comply with their obligations, CEO Brendan Thomas said.

During a Keynote Address on the final day of the Regulating the Game conference in Sydney on Thursday, Thomas said it still has a lot of “activities” around the gambling industry in the works, even as it looks to conclude long-running actions against casino operator Star Entertainment Group and online operator Entain for various compliance failures.

More importantly, he promised that although AUSTRAC will work with industry to achieve appropriate outcomes, its patience has limits.

“I’ve been the CEO of AUSTRAC for just over a year and I’m so proud of the work that we’ve done in that time to reduce the harms to our community. But while I’ve been working with the industry and our reporting entities to reduce that harm, AUSTRAC is not in the business of continuing to educate without action. It is important that businesses understand their legal obligations because I’m prepared to take strong and swift action where it is warranted,” he said.

“If you expect AUSTRAC to educate, educate, educate and then take action years later, you’re mistaken. If you think your business is too small to take responsibility for regulatory compliance, you’re also mistaken. Your services in the gambling industry have been subject to a regulatory regime for many years now and it is your responsibility to comply,” he added.

Noting that licensed operators in Australia face an ever-evolving risk landscape due to “the digitization of currency, financial systems that are more dispersed and complex, the need for more sophisticated customer verification processes, and greater competition in the rapidly expanding online gaming sector,” Thomas called on operators large and small to run thorough risk assessments in order to properly identify where the true risks of infiltration sit for each.

This, he explained, is in line with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2024 that was passed in federal parliament last year.

The bill, which updated the previous act from 2006, adds a raft of new industries to AUSTRAC’s purview – namely real estate professionals, lawyers, accountants, trust and company service providers, and dealers in precious stones and metals – but also amends laws around how entities should comply with their obligations.

“We’re trying to shift the way that we do regulation in our regulated industries away from pure compliance to a proper discussion about risk so that we can talk to you about what that risk actually is and then we can focus practically on what are the controls that are directly aimed at those risks rather than just ticking a bunch of compliance boxes. We aim to take the bureaucracy out of what we do and how we do it,” he said.

Despite promising to be tougher on those who fail to properly comply, Thomas said the agency also wants to improve its lines of communications with the industries it regulates.

“AUSTRAC is making some significant changes ourselves – establishing functions that are purely about establishing proper partnerships with our regulated industries,” he said.

“In the past we haven’t done that and we are committed to working in partnership with those industries that want to comply with the law. We will also be much more transparent and forward on what our legal position is on a whole range of different moves and we will be more up front about where we are seeing risks that affect our regulated industries.

“[But] there is no question on where [illegal] funds come from and how those funds are impacting Australians. There is the crime that leads to profits in the first place and then the reinvestment of those profits into more crime. At the worst end of the scale, we are talking about illicit drugs running, scams, child sexual exploitation and significant amount of human trafficking, so if you are in the gambling industry you have a pretty big obligation to help us combat these problems,” he added.

The post AUSTRAC CEO Focuses on Gambling Industry Compliance appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Australia

Regulating the Game Global Awards: First-Ever Winners Announced

Published

3 days ago

March 11, 2026

Wladimir P.

regulating-the-game-global-awards:-first-ever-winners-announced

Regulating the Game has declared the winners of the first RTG Global Awards, honoring exceptional leadership, stewardship, and excellence in gambling policy and regulation, safer gambling practices, compliance, technology, and community results.

The Awards were created to recognize the people, groups, and innovations that significantly contribute to integrity, public trust, and sustainable progress in the sector. After substantial worldwide involvement in the first year, victors have now been chosen in all six categories by an impartial judging panel made up of senior leaders with knowledge across industry, law, integrity, governance, and safer gambling.

The 2026 RTG Global Award winners are:

• Leadership Voice — Danny Munk, Wests Illawarra
• Safer Gambling Champion — Gamble Alert
• Compliance Excellence — Dominic Monti, Wests Illawarra
• RegTech Solution of the Year — Cherry Hub
• Community Impact Initiative — Nathan Reeves, Unibet
• Emerging Leader — Michael Simone, Bankstown Sports

The award winners showcase the diversity of leadership throughout the sector, from individuals steering the industry with vision and intent to those promoting excellence in compliance, innovation, responsible gambling, and community engagement.

RTG Founder and Principal at Vanguard Overwatch, Paul Newson, said the inaugural winners had set a strong benchmark for future years: “The inaugural RTG Global Awards were established to recognise substance, integrity and measurable contribution across the sector. This year’s winners represent the calibre of leadership, innovation and commitment required to strengthen regulatory practice, improve industry capability and deliver better outcomes for communities.”

“What distinguishes these recipients is not simply professional achievement, but their contribution to lifting standards, advancing safer gambling, strengthening compliance and demonstrating leadership in areas that matter to public confidence and sector credibility.”

The quality of this year’s nominations resulted in a very competitive field, with finalists chosen from an exceptional group of candidates in every category. Being shortlisted was already a noteworthy accomplishment, showcasing the quality of work, leadership, and contributions made by the finalists, while the eventual winners came from an incredibly competitive group.

The winners were selected following an independent assessment process led by a judging panel comprising:
• Don Hammond, Chief Executive Officer, Leagues Clubs Australia
• Jamie Nettleton, Former President, International Masters of Gaming Law and Partner, Addisons
• Khalid Ali, Chief Executive Officer, International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA)
• Tracy Parker, Senior Vice-President – Accreditation, Advisory and Insights, Responsible Gambling Council (Canada)

The RTG Global Awards form part of the broader Regulating the Game program, which brings together regulators, industry leaders, compliance professionals and innovators to examine critical issues, advance policy dialogue and strengthen sector capability.

The post Regulating the Game Global Awards: First-Ever Winners Announced appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Australia

Liquor & Gaming NSW Targets Social Media Influencers Promoting Gambling Products

Published

1 week ago

March 6, 2026

Wladimir P.

liquor-&-gaming-nsw-targets-social-media-influencers-promoting-gambling-products

Liquor & Gaming NSW (L&GNSW) is putting gambling operators on notice that social media influencers are a key focus of its regulatory priorities for 2026.

L&GNSW is responsible for monitoring online wagering and gaming machine advertising visible to the NSW community, including posts on social media, to ensure they comply with NSW laws.

Hospitality and Racing Deputy Secretary Tarek Barakat said with the rise of social media influencers promoting gambling, it was important businesses including online bookmakers and gaming machine operators understood the law and their responsibilities.

“We are putting gambling operators on notice that a key priority for us this year is examining their marketing and customer retention practices, including the use of social media personalities,” Mr Barakat said.

“Gambling operators should be careful about any affiliate or partnership arrangements as we are holding them responsible for the advertising of their products.

“The things we are targeting include paid and unpaid promotional partnerships with wagering operators and gaming machine operators, influencer content that normalises betting behaviour or glamorises gaming products, and in particular, the use of platforms, including podcasts, with large youth or vulnerable audiences.

“These practices may increase the risk of gambling harm by blurring the line between entertainment and marketing, and by exposing at‑risk groups to persuasive promotional content.

“L&GNSW will require social media content creators to demonstrate that their social media and website content complies with legal requirements.

“We also work with other responsible agencies as required to ensure people abide by the law and gambling harm is minimised.”

Mr Barakat said other 2026 regulatory priorities are targeting:

• barriers to closing gambling accounts, VIP or loyalty programmes and other marketing practices, including direct advertising used by casino and gaming venue operators

• casino governance and integrity

• alcohol-related harm hotspots, including areas experiencing increasing rates of alcohol-related crime and high-risk events.

By publishing its annual regulatory priorities, L&GNSW aims to communicate the key regulatory issues that it is addressing and provide industry with an opportunity to proactively modify or cease behaviour that may raise concerns.

The post Liquor & Gaming NSW Targets Social Media Influencers Promoting Gambling Products appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Australia

Tabcorp Pays $158,400 Penalty for Taking Illegal In-Play Sports Bets

Published

2 weeks ago

February 25, 2026

Wladimir P.

tabcorp-pays-$158,400-penalty-for-taking-illegal-in-play-sports-bets

Tabcorp Holdings Limited (Tabcorp) has paid a $158,400 penalty for taking online in-play sports bets, which is illegal in Australia.

An Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) investigation found Tabcorp accepted 426 in-play bets across 32 tennis matches between February 2024 and June 2025.

Online in-play betting, wagers made on a sporting event after it has commenced, is prohibited in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA).

The online in-play sports bets that were accepted in breach of the IGA were voided by Tabcorp and the bets were refunded.

The ACMA accepted the evidence from Tabcorp that the breaches occurred due to systems and communication issues with its third-party provider.

ACMA member Carolyn Lidgerwood said this is the third time since 2021 that Tabcorp has breached the in-play betting rules.

“The law is clear and wagering services must have processes in place to prevent illegal in-play bets from being accepted,” Ms Lidgerwood said.

“While we understand that most wagering operators rely on third-party providers to close betting on sporting events, they cannot outsource their legal responsibilities.

“The length of time it took Tabcorp to identify and then fix the problem was concerning and we expect Tabcorp to do better in the future,” Ms Lidgerwood said.

In addition to the financial penalty, Tabcorp has entered into a comprehensive enforceable undertaking requiring the company to undertake a review of its systems and processes relating to the closing of betting on tennis matches and to report regularly to the ACMA.

The post Tabcorp Pays $158,400 Penalty for Taking Illegal In-Play Sports Bets appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.