The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has put the spotlight on how artificial intelligence is being embedded across Australia’s online gambling sector, describing a market where AI is rapidly moving from back-end experimentation into core wagering operations. For licensed operators, the technology is now being used to sharpen pricing models, personalise user experiences, automate customer service and strengthen fraud controls.
According to ACMA’s AI and interactive gambling: sector developments report, licensed wagering providers are currently using AI in four main ways: predictive analytics and odds setting, personalised promotions and services, content creation and new product features, and the detection of harmful or fraudulent gambling behaviour. The regulator also notes that Australians spent an estimated A$12.45 billion on the online gambling industry in 2024, with 70% of that spend linked to wagering, underlining why AI adoption in this segment matters both commercially and from a regulatory perspective.
AI is moving deeper into Australia’s wagering market
ACMA’s research lands at a time when online gambling is becoming more deeply embedded in Australian consumer behaviour. The report points to evidence that online gambling has continued to expand beyond the pandemic years, with ANU research showing that about a third of Australian adults had participated in online gambling in the previous year. In the same research, online gambling surpassed venue-based gambling for the first time in Australia, highlighting a structural shift in how consumers engage with betting products. 
That shift is particularly visible in wagering. ACMA notes that sports and racing betting are among the forms of gambling most likely to be conducted online, making them a natural target for AI deployment. As operators compete in a mobile-first environment, AI is increasingly being treated as a tool not only for efficiency, but also for product differentiation and user retention.
The report makes clear that AI adoption is no longer confined to a handful of innovation teams. It is now shaping how operators set prices, communicate with customers and monitor player activity. That broad uptake also explains why the regulator is paying closer attention to how these tools are used across the Australian market.
Operators are deploying AI across the customer journey
One of the clearest areas of adoption is predictive analytics. Licensed gambling providers use AI-driven models to predict sporting outcomes and calculate odds with greater speed and precision. These systems can process live inputs such as player injuries, weather conditions and betting activity with minimal human input, allowing operators to update prices almost instantly. ACMA notes that the growing sophistication of these tools is also helping operators offer a wider range of betting markets, including more granular outcomes and player-specific bets.
The report also highlights personalisation as a major AI use case. Operators are using AI to tailor app interfaces, promotions and content to individual users based on behaviour, preferences and real-time activity. Sportsbet, for example, has said it wants to provide customers with a personalised experience every time they log in, while Tabcorp has used AI tools to automatically populate in-app offers based on behaviour, interest and seasonality. For operators, these systems are designed to improve engagement and conversion; for regulators, they raise more complicated questions about influence and consumer vulnerability.
AI is also being deployed in customer-facing tools and product development. ACMA points to Sportsbet’s AI assistant for eligible racing events and its chatbot for customer queries, which reportedly resolves more than one-third of chat enquiries without human intervention and with an accuracy rate of 94%. Elsewhere, Ladbrokes Australia launched its Form Genius analysis tool, while Bet365 has partnered with Genius Sports on AI-enabled betting products. These examples show how generative AI and conversational interfaces are beginning to reshape the wagering experience beyond traditional sportsbook functions.
Another operational area gaining momentum is harm and fraud detection. ACMA says AI systems can continuously monitor user behaviour and identify patterns linked to harmful gambling, such as escalating bet sizes or longer gambling sessions. Tabcorp’s partnership with Mindway AI is one example the report highlights, with the company using behavioural analytics to identify customers who may be at risk. Operators are also deploying AI for fraud prevention, including suspicious transaction monitoring, identity verification and the detection of fake or multiple accounts.
ACMA warns commercial incentives may outweigh player protection
While the report acknowledges the potential benefits of AI for player safety, it also strikes a cautious tone. ACMA says the same systems that can detect risk and support interventions can also be used to increase engagement and revenue. In other words, the technology is not inherently protective; much depends on how operators choose to deploy it and what incentives shape those choices.
That tension is especially visible in the personalisation of promotions. The regulator notes that AI enables providers to analyse growing volumes of user data and tailor content in ways that can influence whether a person bets, how they bet and how long they stay on the platform. ACMA also references broader concerns around “hyper-nudging”, where dynamically personalised prompts are used to shape consumer decisions in increasingly subtle ways. In a gambling context, that could intensify existing risks rather than reduce them.
The report also flags risks outside the licensed market. ACMA cites a recent investigation showing that major AI chatbots were capable of recommending unlicensed gambling websites and even providing guidance on bypassing age checks and self-exclusion schemes. That finding broadens the debate beyond operator use of AI and into how general-purpose AI tools may inadvertently support access to illegal offshore gambling services.
Australia’s regulatory framework is being tested by faster AI adoption
ACMA frames the report as an evidence base for its work under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, rather than as a direct call for immediate legislative reform. Still, the message is clear: AI is evolving faster than the regulatory architecture that governs the sector. The current framework was not designed with today’s predictive, generative and increasingly autonomous systems in mind.
The regulator also notes that other jurisdictions are moving to strengthen intervention frameworks. Countries such as Sweden, the UK and Denmark already require operators to detect and act when players show signs of harmful gambling behaviour. Spain’s gambling regulator is even developing its own AI system to monitor gambling activity across licensed operators in real time. These examples suggest that the regulatory debate is shifting from whether AI should be involved in gambling oversight to how such systems should be governed and where accountability should sit.
ACMA further points to the emergence of agentic AI, or systems capable of taking autonomous actions by combining predictive and generative capabilities. That development may prove to be the most challenging from a compliance standpoint, because it complicates responsibility when decisions are made, adjusted and acted upon with limited human intervention. For Australia’s gambling sector, the central question is no longer whether AI will shape the future of wagering, but whether regulation can keep pace with the speed and scale of its deployment.
