Starlight Pro

What is Starlight Pro?

Around 49% of the adults surveyed said they had gambled within the past four weeks, a figure consistent with previous years. 

When excluding those who only played lottery draws, participation stood at 28%, implying lottery-only players comprised roughly 21% of the adult population. 

Online gambling participation over four weeks reached 39% (16% excluding lottery-only players), while in-person gambling participation was 29% (18% excluding lottery-only players). 

About Starlight Pro

The regulator noted that several inactive accounts remained open long after users requested exclusion. 

Specifically, 156 out of 229 accounts with no pending bets remained linked to BetStop users seven days after self-exclusion registration. Some accounts were non-compliant for periods extending up to 200 days.

Carolyn Lidgerwood, an ACMA member, stressed the importance of respecting self-exclusion decisions, stating “providers must respect that decision” and “must have robust systems in place”. 

What is Starlight Pro?

They must also evaluate their current technical safeguards to ensure alignment with regulator expectations and certification standards.

Safeguarding has reappeared as a focal point for the regulator. In July of this year, ANJ imposed a €500,000 ($572,797) fine on an unnamed online betting operator, referred to as Company X, for not adequately identifying and supporting customers exhibiting signs of problematic gambling. 

The fine followed an investigation that found Company X had failed to correctly identify 29 high-risk players at an appropriate risk level. Six players were missed entirely and 23 were misclassified at a lower risk tier.