Entain Australia & New Zealand is working with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) after the body discovered more than 500 breaches of national self-exclusion rules in Australia.
As a result, the Ladbrokes and Neds operator entered into a court-enforceable undertaking following an ACMA investigation.
The ACMA found that Entain had:
- Opened accounts and provided wagering to people registered with BetStop.
- Opened new accounts for individuals registered with BetStop.
- Failed to adequately promote BetStop in customer texts and emails.
As a result, the ACMA has accepted a comprehensive 18-month court-enforceable undertaking from Entain, as the company will commit to an independent review of its compliance systems and processes and implement any recommended improvements.
An Entain Australia spokesperson said: “We take all our regulatory responsibilities seriously. These matters arose during the early stages of a new national system, and we have worked constructively with the ACMA to implement meaningful enhancements to our processes and controls.
“Our focus is on getting this right for our customers, particularly those who choose to self-exclude, and on building long-term trust through a strong, compliance-led culture.”
Several contraventions related to Entain customers holding multiple accounts across the Ladbrokes and Neds services, according to ACMA member Carolyn Lidgerwood.
Lidgerwood said: “When someone signs up to BetStop, wagering companies must close all of that person’s accounts held within their services.
“In this case, Entain’s systems did not adequately identify and link all wagering accounts held by those customers across its services, including one account that remained open for more than a year after the customer had self-excluded.”
Entain said that it engaged with the ACMA throughout, providing detailed submissions and working in good faith to address issues. The operator stated that the BetStop system and processes were still evolving at the time and that it had made significant investment into its compliance framework, governance and culture, with improvements already made.
Entain added that the enforceable undertaking, rather than a fine, reflects the nature of the breaches and the confidence in the operator and its ability to remediate.
However, the ACMA has stated that it ‘did not issue Entain with an infringement notice as that enforcement option was not available in these circumstances’ and that ‘failure to comply with an enforceable undertaking can result in court-ordered financial penalties’.
Entain’s court case with AUSTRAC
Compliance with national self-exclusion rules isn’t the only issue Entain is currently facing in the country, as the operator is also continuing its preparations for its case in the Federal Court of Australia with Australian financial crime regulator AUSTRAC over anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) compliance.
Justice Moore is set to hear the case between Entain and AUSTRAC in court on 30 November 2026, with the operator having to submit its evidence for the case by 6 August. AUSTRAC had to have its case in order by 10 April, but the case could also be settled before then.
A December 2024 investigation into Entain’s Ladbrokes and Neds brands resulted in AUSTRAC alleging that the operator permitted 17 high-risk customers to spend AUS $152m (approximately €93.6m) without adequate checks. Specifically, the operator is accused of allowing one customer, who had strong ties to drug trafficking, to launder more than $20m through its platform.
In October last year, Entain admitted to shortcomings in its previous AML/CTF compliance program between December 2018 and August 2024, but disputed several allegations and interpretations made by AUSTRAC, saying its AML/CTF compliance had been substantially upgraded and was compliant with the regulator’s frameworks as of August 2024.
The operator also highlighted changes made to improve operations in the past two years and that it has “fully cooperated with AUSTRAC and continues to engage constructively and in good faith”.
Andrew Vouris, Chief Executive Officer of Entain Australia & New Zealand, said at the time: “We sincerely regret that our old program didn’t meet expectations. We followed expert advice at the time but, looking back, we recognise the old program missed the mark.
“We’ve acknowledged our shortcomings, taken responsibility, and spent the last two years learning from them and fixing them. Entain has fundamentally transformed its approach to compliance and now operates a market-leading program, underpinned by a compliance-first culture – to win, but not at all costs.”
