Ladbrokes and Neds owner Entain fined for ‘in-play’ LIV golf bets

ACMA said Ladbrokes and Neds accepted 78 online in-play bets on the final day of the Bangkok LIV Golf tournament in October 2022.

Entain reported the breaches to ACMA, explaining it had broken the law because the company had put the incorrect start time for the event into its systems.

As a result, 59 bets were accepted via the Ladbrokes service and 19 via the Neds service after the event had begun. All bets were effectively voided, ACMA said. Entain only became aware of the error when alerted by a customer some three hours after the day’s play had started.

“Online in-play betting increases the risk for those people experiencing gambling harm as it provides fast outcomes and allows for higher frequency of bets,” ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said.

Ms O’Loughlin said Entain was a highly experienced wagering operator and it was disappointing that it did not have internal procedures in place to prevent or detect the error.

“The ACMA made it clear to the industry last year that they must have robust systems in place to ensure that online in-play bets are not made available or accepted.”