Gambling reform in Australia: obligation or opportunity?
Dave Sproson, head of business development at EPIC Global Solutions, has been speaking with operators in Australia to understand the impact of the ‘interactive gambling amendment’ bill that the country’s parliament passed last week, and considers whether new regulation in areas such as customer protection and advertising standards could be an opportunity for the market to improve performance…
Australia’s new gambling reforms will understandably drive a lot of focus on compliance.
But what I’m hearing from operators across the region is that this isn’t just about meeting new requirements. It’s about raising the standard of customer interactions – particularly around identifying customers who may be at increased risk and ensuring colleagues have the confidence and skills to engage with them in a meaningful way.
The organisations getting ahead of these changes aren’t waiting for regulatory pressure… they’re investing in their people now.
Better trained teams can spot potential concerns earlier, have more effective conversations, make better intervention decisions, and ultimately help prevent issues before they escalate. That’s good for customers, but it’s also good business.
Stronger customer outcomes, reduced regulatory risk, greater confidence in decision making, and protection of brand reputation are all benefits of getting this right.
One thing that’s been particularly encouraging is seeing operators across Australia and New Zealand looking beyond responsible gambling as a cost and how it’s actually a huge competitive edge when done right.
In my view, that’s where the biggest opportunity lies – and where we can already supply the proof of concept from where it’s being delivered in other mature gambling markets around the world.
