Flutter Entertainment‘s Sportsbet found itself in the Australian news headlines as 2025 drew to a close, in a development that may be indicative of the direction the country’s betting market is heading in.
Several outlets caught wind of a regulatory decision against the company by the Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission (NTRWC) in November, in which the bookmaker was hit with a AU$313,000 (€178,700) penalty.
The penalty stems from a series of incidents between July 2022 and May 2024, where activity statements were not sent to the email addresses of ‘at least’ 6,161 customers. The NTRWC requires bookmakers to send activity statements to customers every month, showing a breakdown of their spending, stakes, wins and losses.
Sportsbet confirmed to the regulator on 26 September 2024 that technical failures meant activity was not sent during the above mentioned 18-month period.
The NTRWC noted that Sportsbet had apologised to customers and regretted the incidents, but stated that the firm only became aware after being contacted by customers, while it also only alerted the commission five months after conducting its own international investigation.
The commission’s statement, signed off by the regulator’s Chair, Alastair Shields, assured that: “The commission will continue to take firm enforcement action to ensure compliance and promote a safer wagering environment.”
Regulation unknown
The same month as the Sportsbet decision, the NTRWC came to a conclusion on two other cases affecting two other major players in the Australian betting space – bet365 and PointsBet, though in these cases it sided with the operators.
A claimant against bet365 argued that the operator had failed to notice changes in behaviour leading to increased spending during a three-day period, while the claimant against PointsBet said they were able to wager despite being listed as a forfeited person with the Racing and Wagering Western Australia regulator.
Both cases saw complaints that bet365 and PointsBet had failed to meet due diligence and customer protection requirements, but in both cases, the regulator came to the conclusion that the operators had met such criteria under the Racing and Wagering Act 2024.
This all comes amid political scrutiny of the NTRWC and the way Australia’s betting market is regulated as a whole. Australian betting is regulated on a state-by-state basis, with the NTRWC sitting alongside the regulators of Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, among others.
However, the NTRWC is widely seen as the de facto national regulator of online sports betting in the country. It is now facing criticism for being ‘too close’, as some have put it, to the industry it regulates. The Australian Media and Communications Authority (ACMA) is now facing similar criticism.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported this week that Sportsbet itself had put pressure on the ACMA to ‘water down’ an announcement of enforcement action in 2022, regarding messages being sent via email and text to customers who had unsubscribed from marketing.
“This exchange shows a very, very cosy relationship and a very unhealthy relationship,” said Andrew Wilkie MP, quoted by ABC – an independent federal MP. Wilkie has been one of the most vocal political voices calling for changes to how Australia’s betting market is regulated.
Much of the calls for regulatory change in Australia centre around the 31 recommendations of the Murphy report, named after the late MP who wrote it, Peta Murphy. The report’s recommendations included a ban on gambling advertising and creation of a federal regulator – an official one, not the de facto NTRWC.
However, PM Anthony Albanese’s Labor government has been slow in adopting the recommendations of the Murphy report, with the advertising ban looking the most unlikely. This has resulted in political backlash.
“Gambling regulation in Aus is a national disgrace,” Wilkie said back in October, writing on X.
“The govt has ignored the Murphy Report & repeatedly blocked my bill to hold gambling giants accountable. If they won’t listen to evidence, experts or the crossbench, they should at least listen to the community.”
How the government settles regulation will be one of the defining developments of 2026 for the Australian wagering scene. Campaigners are keen to see a new regulator introduced, one which lacks the ‘closeness’ to the industry of the ACMA and NTRWC.
However, to be fair to the NTRWC and ACMA, an important part of regulation is understanding – drawing the line between working with and understanding an industry you regulate and being ‘too close to it’ is a tricky line to draw.
SBC has reached out to Flutter for comment on the ABC report.