Entain accepts court-enforceable undertaking to audit compliance processes after self-exclusion failings in Australia
Entain’s Ladbrokes and Neds brands will undergo an independent review of their compliance systems and processes after an investigation found hundreds of self-exclusions failings.
The investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which began in December 2024 following complaints from consumers, found more than 500 breaches of national self-exclusion rules at the Entain brands.
The failings included opening accounts for and providing wagering services to people registered with the national self-exclusion register BetStop, as well as failing to adequately promote BetStop in customer texts and emails.
ACMA member Carolyn Lidgerwood said many of the contraventions related to customers holding multiple accounts across the Ladbrokes and Neds services.
“When someone signs up to BetStop, wagering companies must close all of that person’s accounts held within their services,” she added. “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.”
The ACMA has accepted a comprehensive 18-month court-enforceable undertaking from Entain, committing the company to an independent review of its compliance systems and processes and the implementation of any recommended improvements.
The ACMA said that it did not issue an infringement notice as that enforcement option was not available in these circumstances but warned that failure to comply with the enforceable undertaking can result in court-ordered financial penalties.
Shares in Entain plc. (LSE:ENT) were trading 1.83 per cent higher at 540.90 pence per share in London Wednesday morning.