ACMA Report Shows AI Reshaping Betting As Targeting Risks Grow
Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) released a report on April 21, 2026, showing that AI is now widely used across licensed betting operators in Australia. The market generated $12.45bn in online gambling spend in 2024, and operators rely on AI for pricing, marketing, and risk monitoring. The regulator flags growing concerns around targeting and oversight.
The report groups AI use into four areas: odds setting, personalised offers, product development, and harm detection. Predictive models process live data such as injuries, weather, and betting flows, which allows odds to update in real time and supports trading decisions.
Investment in pricing technology continues to grow. PointsBet’s parent company, Fanatics acquired Banach Technologies for $43m to strengthen in-play capabilities. Betfair Australia has reported that AI improved its odds accuracy by around 22 percent, showing a direct impact on trading performance.
Personalisation creates the biggest pressure point. Operators use AI to tailor offers, homepage content, and displayed odds for each user. Flutter Entertainment aims to customise each session, while Tabcorp generates daily offers based on behaviour. The report links this to “hyper-nudging,” a concept from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, where systems influence decisions in real time.
AI is also used to build tools and reduce costs. Operators apply it to marketing, customer support, and betting features. At the same time, machine learning models track behaviour and flag risk. Mindway AI works with Tabcorp, and Entain uses similar systems to monitor and act on risk. The report highlights a clear conflict here. The same models used to increase spend are used to detect harm, which is likely to lead to tighter rules on how targeting tools can be used.
💡 TGJ Take
AI now sits at the core of pricing, marketing, and risk systems, so this is no longer a future issue for operators. The same tools that increase player spend are used to detect harm, and that overlap will draw attention from regulators, starting with markets like Australia. Expect tighter rules on how personalisation can be used, especially for users at risk. Larger operators can handle this shift, but smaller brands may face higher costs and pressure to explain how their systems work. Affiliates should review their partners, as changes to targeting will likely affect conversion and traffic.
