Entain Australia and New Zealand (NZ) CEO Andrew Vouris spoke at the Regulating the Game Sydney 2026 conference this year, providing his thoughts on current compliance standards and overviewing key moments from his career.
Indeed, opening his keynote speech at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth on day one of Australia’s premier gambling conference, Vouris outlines a moment during late 2018, when an unnamed company was subject to investigation. Out of the blue, Vouris explained that his wife called him to inform him that the Federal Police were at their home and, while the investigation failed to dig up any wrongdoing, reputations were permanently damaged.
Considering examples from various notable moments in Australian sporting history, Winning the right way: Entain's Andrew Vouris addresses Regulating the Game Sydney 2026, Vouris draws on the subject of integrity, explaining that this experience made him realise, “how you win matters just as much as whether you win.”
Going on to build on this sentiment, Vouris explains that he believes “integrity matters more than the result.”
As such, Vouris highlighted the importance of a functional compliance culture within gaming, despite acknowledging the fact that tensions between compliance and commerciality will always remain – especially at points of pressure and market crises. Nevertheless, Vouris concludes that “long-term thinking will always beat short-term gain.”
“If society is going to trust us to operate, we must hold ourselves to a higher bar than the bare minimum.”
Prioritising player protection, in the eyes of Vouris, is paramount for businesses in the modern industry – especially with regard to further building trust and transparency with regulators. When he joined Entain in 2021, Vouris outlines how he saw a company culture that was already beginning to align itself with the above-mentioned priorities. He noted that, at Entain in the present day, compliance is treated as a capability: “We could treat it at a cost, or as a competitive advantage.”
Vouris’ closing comments draw focus on the black market, outlining that, as New Zealand strives towards the light of a regulated online casino sector, Australia is unlikely to follow in the coming years. He calls for enhanced scrutiny and action to be taken against illegal offshore operators in Australia by law enforcement and banks, in particular.
Addressing the Australian regulated industry, however, Vouris underscored the importance of operators ensuring they win within the industry, “but not at all costs.”
During the full year 2025 period, Entain’s Australia NGR dropped by 6% year-on-year
