Australian sportsbook operators call for national gambling blacklist

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The Backstory

Why operators are escalating their push

Australia’s major bookmakers are urging a national blacklist to shut out illegal offshore gambling operators because the current patchwork of enforcement tools has not stemmed the tide. Industry group Responsible Wagering Australia argues that offshore sites are targeting locals with speed and sophistication, outpacing takedowns and fueling a shadow market. Estimates of that market’s size vary, but the trend line runs one way. Sportsbet Chief Executive Barni Evans recently said illegal operators account for about 15% of the online sports betting market and are growing fast, warning that unchecked expansion “risks annihilating” the licensed sector. He detailed how higher taxes and fees have squeezed legal operators, forcing cuts to marketing that leave more visible space for rogue brands. His remarks came at a Sydney industry conference and were reported in an analysis of the offshore market’s market-share surge and advertising edge.

The blacklist push reflects a shift from reactive website blocking to a broader, coordinated choke point strategy. The proposal would compel platforms and intermediaries to remove promotions, delist search results, take down apps and block payments, including crypto wallets tied to banned sites. That scope aims to disrupt how offshore brands reach customers, not just where they host domains.

Offshore sites ride marquee events for reach

The urgency has sharpened as offshore casinos and sportsbooks exploit high-profile sports to acquire customers in plain sight. During the Australian Open, investigators found several unlicensed operators using tournament branding, player images and themed giveaways to lure Australian bettors. One casino, Vegastars, offered front-row tickets while displaying the event logo without affiliation, drawing thousands of social interactions. Regulators later confirmed the site was illegal and said they would move to block it. The episode was chronicled in a report on how illegal gambling sites used the Australian Open to promote services.

These promotions highlight the enforcement lag industry leaders say a national blacklist could close. They also demonstrate how offshore platforms blur lines for consumers who may mistake polished, sports-adjacent advertising for legitimacy. When licensed operators trim ad budgets under regulatory and tax pressure, those gaps become prime real estate for offshore brands.

Blocking works, but only to a point

Australia’s regulator has leaned on ISP-level blocks since 2019 to disrupt unlawful sites. The Australian Communications and Media Authority recently directed service providers to restrict access to another seven casinos, bringing total blocks into the low four figures and prompting hundreds of services to exit the market since new rules took effect in 2017. The latest wave was detailed in coverage of how the media regulator blocked seven more illegal gambling sites.

Yet circumvention remains easy. Offshore operators often rotate domains, mirror sites and payment pathways. That churn complicates sustained disruption and helps explain why industry estimates of black-market share range widely. Responsible Wagering Australia pegs it far higher than some operator-led assessments, arguing that leakage through social media, search and payments means blocks alone cannot seal off the market. The proposed blacklist would extend enforcement to the platforms where discovery, downloads and deposits happen.

At the same time, ACMA’s domestic enforcement underscores a parallel imperative: lift compliance among licensed firms so the legal market is as safe and credible as possible. The agency has investigated multiple bookmakers for breaching self-exclusion rules under BetStop. Tabcorp was fined and ordered to overhaul checks, while several smaller operators received remedial directions or warnings. ACMA is finalizing action against PickleBet after finding a BetStop-registered customer was able to open an account and wager. Those steps were outlined in reporting that the regulator is set to decide the fate of PickleBet.

A national market with a territorial regulator

Australia’s online wagering backbone runs through the Northern Territory, where more than 40 corporate bookmakers are licensed and overseen by a part-time commission. That model is under scrutiny. Lawmakers have called for a parliamentary inquiry into the Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission’s transparency and capacity after revelations of delayed reporting and weak enforcement powers. Critics say the commission was never designed to serve as a de facto national regulator despite supervising operators that anchor most of an AU$50 billion industry. The push for a review was captured in an account of lawmakers seeking an inquiry into the Northern Territory regulator.

This governance gap matters for any expanded blacklist regime. A system that reaches social platforms, search engines, app stores and banks will require clear federal direction, strong interagency coordination and predictable rulemaking. If the current licensing hub faces questions about oversight, policymakers may be reluctant to bolt more complex obligations onto a framework seen as underpowered for today’s market.

Costs, competition and consumer risk

The economics of the legal market add urgency. Evans said nearly half of Sportsbet’s revenue now goes to taxes and fees, which he argued pushes bookmakers to raise overrounds and cut promotions, sapping price competitiveness. He also said legal brands have cut advertising spend by about 40%, creating a visibility vacuum filled by offshore operators. His comments in the analysis of the licensed sector’s cost pressures and offshore encroachment underscore how policy choices ripple through consumer behavior.

For consumers, the stakes are direct. Offshore sites typically lack responsible gambling protections, offer fewer dispute-resolution paths and can vanish with deposits. ACMA has warned about fraud and financial harm on unauthorized sites as it continues to expand blocks. While those efforts have removed hundreds of services from the Australian market, the recurring sight of offshore branding at major events and on social platforms signals that a broader containment approach may be needed to match the modern funnel from ad to app to payment.

What to watch as policy hardens

A national blacklist would test Australia’s ability to orchestrate multi-platform rules across private intermediaries. Key questions include how quickly platforms must act on takedown notices, whether app stores and search engines will preemptively screen against a central list and how banks and crypto exchanges will implement wallet and merchant blocks without overreaching. The approach would likely sit alongside, not replace, ACMA’s domain blocking, which continues to ratchet up. Recent actions to block additional illegal gambling sites show the baseline tactic remains active.

Expect industry to press for uniform national standards while warning that overregulation could dull the legal sector’s appeal and widen the black market. Consumer advocates will argue the opposite, pointing to self-exclusion breaches and the ease with which offshore brands target Australians. The Northern Territory inquiry push adds another variable: any shake-up in how Australia supervises the national market from a territorial base could shape the architecture of a new blacklist. The outcome will determine whether Australia can close the enforcement gap before offshore operators turn today’s margin pressure on licensed bookmakers into tomorrow’s market share loss for regulators, sports and taxpayers.