TLDR
- Australia’s ACMA published research showing gambling operators are rapidly adopting AI across marketing, odds-setting, fraud detection and player safety
- Sportsbet’s AI chatbot now handles over one-third of customer enquiries with 94% accuracy
- Betfair Australia reported a 22% improvement in odds accuracy thanks to AI tools
- The regulator warned commercial priorities may favour boosting engagement over minimising gambling harm
- AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Grok have been found directing users to unlicensed offshore gambling sites
The Australian Communications and Media Authority this week released research showing gambling operators across the country are rapidly integrating artificial intelligence into their businesses.
The report found AI is being used across a wide range of operations. These include personalised marketing, odds-setting, fraud detection and identifying players who may be experiencing gambling-related harm.
The regulator raised concerns that while AI offers player safety benefits, commercial interests may push operators to prioritise engagement and revenue over harm reduction.
Sportsbet, owned by Flutter, has deployed an AI chatbot that now handles more than one-third of customer enquiries on its own. The company reported the chatbot has an accuracy rate of around 94%.
Tabcorp has partnered with Mindway AI to roll out behavioural analytics tools. These systems work as what the report described as “virtual psychologists,” analysing betting patterns to flag at-risk users.
AI Is Changing How Betting Odds Are Set
AI-powered predictive analytics have changed the way operators price their betting markets. Licensed wagering providers have used machine learning for odds-setting for years, but the technology has grown more advanced.
Operators can now process live inputs like player injuries and in-play betting patterns with very little human involvement. Betfair Australia said AI contributed to a 22% improvement in odds accuracy.
Fanatics, the parent company of PointsBet, acquired algorithmic trading firm Banach Technologies for $43 million in 2021. The firm specialises in live wagering and odds-setting.
AI has also allowed operators to price a wider range of micro-markets and player-specific outcomes that were previously too complex to offer.
Real-time analytics powered by AI now let wagering platforms monitor transactions and player behaviour continuously. This helps operators spot potential fraud, money laundering or account misuse more quickly.
AI has also improved identity verification through smart document analysis and biometrics. This reduces fake or duplicate player accounts on platforms.
Regulator Flags Risks From Autonomous AI and Black Market Growth
The ACMA flagged what it called perhaps the most consequential development in the space — agentic AI. These autonomous systems can chain predictive and generative capabilities together without human oversight.
The regulator said attributing responsibility for outcomes becomes much harder when a system operates on its own across the entire customer journey. The question of accountability remains unresolved.
The report also found AI is contributing to growth in the black market. An investigation by Investigate Europe found that general-purpose AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Grok frequently directed users toward unlicensed offshore gambling websites.
In some cases, those chatbots also gave guidance on bypassing age verification and self-exclusion schemes.
Australia’s gambling rules are primarily based on the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. The ACMA said the framework was not designed with modern AI technologies in mind.
The regulator pointed to Spain as one example of a country taking action. The Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling in Spain is developing its own AI system to monitor behaviour across licensed operators in real time.
The ACMA said the report was intended to inform policy discussion and was not an immediate call for changes to the law.
