Sportsbet CEO Says Australian Online Casinos Safer for Problem Gamblers

Australian gaming operator Sportsbet CEO, Cormac Barry, went on the record and shared his views on the issue of problem gambling. The CEO’s conclusions is that online gaming, operating under Australian gambling laws, offers better protection for problem gamblers than the land-based alternative.

Barry argues that the utilization of third-party verification services and artificial intelligence software adds up to increased security against all harmful side effects associated with gambling. His thoughts were shared at a federal inquiry into interactive and online gambling, gambling advertising and the Interactive Gambling and Broadcasting Amendment (Online Transactions and Other Measures) Bill 2011.

Australia gambling news quotes Cormac Barry: “There are occasions where people will try and open a second or third account to try and get more money on — customers have limits on how much they can bet on each selection — so we run real-time matching software that will pick out common characteristics with similar accounts and that will flag and alert to our fraud team.”

He went on to say: “The same would apply with people who have self-excluded — if they try to open a new account with the same email address or phone number or used a different address, the software would pick it up and the account would be suspended by the fraud team. The efforts that have been made by the online gambling industry are considerably more sophisticated than other areas of the [gambling] industry.“

Barry also commented the possibility of minors accessing online casinos in Australia. According to the CEO current regulations, allowing 90 days for new customers verification, could potentially give minors a chance to access gambling facilities. He commented: “You can still play, but you cannot benefit from that activity: You cannot withdraw money … you can still lose money. It is possible [for minors to gamble during the 90 days].“

Barry described the proposals of requiring people to provide a full 100 points of identification before opening an online account would be too ambiguous for the industry. “A barrier of that level would be very onerous and would only serve customers to offshore sites who do not have that level of regulation,” he commented.

Barry suggested: “The key thing when we are looking at regulation is to strike a balance and allow the business to operate and have processes that protect the customer — whether they are minors or responsible gamblers.”