Australia’s biggest online gambling company, Sportsbet, has acknowledged it failed to adequately understand its role in preventing financial crime and did not do enough to address significant risks to sports integrity. Addressing an industry conference in Sydney, Sportsbet’s CEO, Barni Evans, admitted that the company has “forgotten to do some adult things” and made several mistakes, including intensifying an advertising “arms race.” He emphasized the importance of protecting Australians from coordinated and financial crimes, a realization he says did not fully hit him five years ago.
Evans revealed that initially, Sportsbet was ineffective in alerting sports bodies to betting transactions that might have posed severe integrity risks, something that took around three to four years to address. In May 2024, the Australian financial intelligence agency accepted Sportsbet’s commitment to improve its compliance with anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
Additionally, it was disclosed that the AFL had publicly acknowledged its online gambling integrity system’s severe inadequacies, particularly in identifying if players, coaches, and staff were using insider information to manipulate betting markets, in breach of their contracts.
Sportsbet’s CEO also expressed regret for the gambling industry and government agencies’ delay in introducing a national self-exclusion scheme for individuals attempting to overcome gambling addictions, suggesting that there should be collective shame for the slow progress.
Reflecting on Sportsbet’s advertising campaigns and the competitive nature of advertising among gambling companies, Evans admitted to various mistakes and indicated understanding for Tom Waterhouse, an early sports betting advertising pioneer who faced public criticism and was unfairly vilified without proper regulatory frameworks to prevent certain kinds of advertising.
Lastly, Michelle Rowland, the communications minister, acknowledged that gambling advertising reforms were taking longer than initially anticipated but emphasized ongoing consultation and policy processes. For individuals affected by gambling, support services in Australia, the UK, and the US were highlighted for assistance.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/12/sportsbet-ceo-advertising-campaigns-ntwnfb
