Australian Wagering Compliance

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has started the tendering process to find a supplier who can establish, operate and manage the National Self-Exclusion Register (the NSER Operator)¹.

At its core the tender will design, build and host a secure database to hold the sensitive information about punters and make self-exclusion accessible via a dedicated call centre, website and app.

In practise, the tender casts a wider role for the NSER Operator as an extension of the regulator.  This wider role includes being:

• The voice of the NSER. Engaging with industry to understand the cost, complexity and effort for bookmakers to upgrade their wagering systems to be interoperable with the NSER
• The connector of the NSER. Referring punters to expert counselling and allied health services.  This requires appropriately trained and specialist call centre workers
• The warden of the NSER. Supporting ACMA’s compliance and enforcement activities under the Interactive Gambling Act
• The fundraiser for the NSER. Collecting revenue to fund itself under a cost-recovery formula set by ACMA.

We have two insights for bookmakers and our clients²:

Insight: Preparedness of business processes

• The tender sets out an implementation calendar beginning in 3^rd quarter 2020.  Answers provided to a parliamentary committee indicate likely slippage in operation out to 2021
• We believe that you need to have business processes ready-to-go for this timetable – doing it as an afterthought risks regulatory action and fines on your operations.  Latter blog posts will analyse this.

Insight: Burden of compliance increases

• The tender makes clear the NSER Operator will only be an intermediary between ACMA and bookmakers
• The burden of legislative compliance remains with bookmakers

• We believe that you need to understand the path to connect your customer systems to the NSER, or indeed modernise them for this new environment – what we refer to as the ‘last mile’ in terms of interoperability.

At Australian Wagering Compliance, we look forward to supporting you with proactive and intelligent ways to demonstrate your compliance with the NSER obligations.

Notes:

1. Request for Expressions of Interest for the provision of the National Self-Exclusion Register 19ACMA102 released on 8 October
2. Proprietary analysis by AWC