Australia’s ACMA maps AI risks in wagering sector
- Australia’s gambling regulator has published its most detailed public assessment to date of how licensed operators are deploying artificial intelligence across wagering operations.
- The ACMA report identifies four core AI use cases, including personalised promotions and real-time odds generation, and raises concerns about commercial priorities overriding player protection.
- Regulators, researchers and consumer advocates are calling for stronger AI governance as Australia’s existing Interactive Gambling Act framework is being put to the test.
Australia’s gambling regulator has placed AI use by licensed wagering operators under formal scrutiny, publishing a sector-wide report that maps the rapid expansion of machine learning and generative AI tools across odds-setting, marketing, fraud detection and responsible gambling systems.
On 21 April 2026, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) released its AI and interactive gambling: sector developments report, the most detailed public assessment to date of AI’s growing role in Australian wagering.
The paper is positioned as an evidence-gathering exercise rather than a regulatory instrument, but its implications for licensed operators are significant.
Four use cases flagged
The ACMA identifies four primary use cases through which licensed wagering providers are incorporating AI:
- predictive analytics and odds setting;
- personalised promotions and customer experiences;
- content creation, design and new product features;
- detection of harmful and fraudulent gambling behaviour.
Predictive models now generate real-time or near real-time odds informed by live data feeds including player injuries and in-play betting patterns, with minimal human intervention.
Recommendation engines personalise homepages, markets and offers at an individual customer level.
The sector collected $12.45 billion from Australians in 2024. The ACMA found licensed providers are increasingly using AI to develop existing odds-making strategies and introduce new product features.
Sportsbet has deployed an AI chatbot handling over one-third of customer enquiries autonomously, reporting an accuracy rate of approximately 94%. Tabcorp has partnered with Mindway AI to implement behavioural analytics tools that analyse betting behaviour to flag at-risk users.
The dual-use problem
A central theme in the ACMA’s findings is the dual-use nature of AI within gambling operations. The same behavioural data and machine learning models capable of detecting early signs of gambling harm can also be configured to increase player engagement and extend session times.
The ACMA cautioned that commercial deployment may prioritise increased engagement and revenue generation over harm minimisation. Stakeholders have raised concerns that some AI applications may intensify harmful gambling behaviours.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), in its 2025 report on AI developments, highlighted that AI may be used to influence consumers into choices they would not otherwise make, a practice described as “hyper-nudging.” The ACMA referenced those findings in the context of AI-driven personalisation in wagering.
The ACMA also flagged agentic AI as among the most consequential developments in the sector. Autonomous systems can chain predictive and generative capabilities together without human oversight, raising significant accountability questions when such systems operate across the entire customer journey.
A separate concern involves AI chatbots directing users toward unlicensed operators. An investigation by Investigate Europe, referenced in the ACMA report, found that general-purpose AI chatbots including ChatGPT and Grok frequently directed users toward unlicensed offshore gambling websites and, in some cases, provided guidance on bypassing age verification and self-exclusion schemes.
Regulatory framework under pressure
The ACMA acknowledged that the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, which underpins Australia’s gambling regulatory framework, was not drafted to account for modern AI technologies, and that emerging AI use cases are putting the existing rules to the test.
The report does not propose new rules. It is positioned as informing policy dialogue. The ACMA’s findings, however, suggest pressure for stronger governance may grow as AI adoption accelerates.
The ACMA noted growing AI adoption in responsible gambling frameworks in Sweden, the UK and Denmark, where operators are legally required to detect and respond to signs of harmful gambling behaviour. Australia is expected to face similar questions as that international baseline rises.
With advertising reforms and AML/CTF obligations already reshaping the compliance landscape, tighter AI governance standards would add a further layer of operational and legal complexity for Australia’s licensed wagering providers.
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