Ladbrokes Australia blasts self-exclusion scheme delay
Ladbrokes has ignited a new stoush in Australia’s online gambling sector, splitting from rival betting companies over plans for a national self-exclusion scheme for people trying to quit gambling.
The country’s biggest online-only bookmakers — including Sportsbet, BetEasy, Ladbrokes and Bet365 — have been working with governments through their industry group Responsible Wagering Australia to develop a suite of stronger responsible gaming reforms, the most important of which is a scheme permitting punters to ban themselves across states and all wagering sites at once on smartphones, computers and tablets.
Other reforms include a voluntary opt-out scheme for gamblers to set betting limits when they sign up, and a ban on offering “inducements” to tempt Australians to open online betting accounts or to refer a friend to open one.
Federal Social Services Minister Dan Tehan is expected to announce within weeks that the National Consumer Protection Framework for online wagering has been approved by the states and territories and will set down an implementation timeline.
But with uncertainty surrounding who will develop the nationally consistent self-exclusion scheme and how it would operate, wagering industry sources say Sportsbet and BetEasy (formerly CrownBet) have been working with government officials on the development of a proposal.
Ladbrokes supports a multi-operator self-exclusion scheme, but this week blasted the “frustrating” delays in rolling one out. The Australian arm of the UK-based betting company insists a model already in force in the Northern Territory, the jurisdiction where most online bookmakers hold their licences in Australia, has proved effective and should be replicated by other governments.
