The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has issued Winners Bookmaking with a formal warning for breaching national self-exclusion rules.
The regulator said Winners Bookmaking, which operates the Betplay brand Down Under, took too long to close the account for a customer registered with BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register (NSER).
An ACMA investigation, which commenced on 3 March 2025, found the customer joined the NSER on 5 September 2024, but their betting account remained open for another 20 days.
As per Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA), once a person registers with the NSER, operators are obligated to close their account as soon as possible.
The ACMA took the view that betting companies ought to check the register no less frequently than every seven days, meaning the account should have been closed by 12 September 2024, at the latest.
The ACMA found 13 contraventions of the IGA, one for each day between the point at which the account ought to have been closed (in its view) and the point at which it was actually closed.
If Winners Bookmaking breaches these rules again it could face further enforcement action, such as a fine or federal court proceedings.
Earlier this year, the ACMA sanctioned six operators for breaches of self-exclusion rules, including Tabcorp which was made to pay a fine of A$112,680 (£57,600).
The other sanctioned firms were LightningBet, Betfocus, TempleBet, Picklebet and Betchamps, with the latter given a formal warning.
The ACMA also handed Tabcorp a similarly sized fine last month for accepting online in-play bets, which are illegal under the IGA.
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The post ACMA hands warning to Winners Bookmaking for self-exclusion contraventions first appeared on EGR Intel.
The decision relates to a lack of timely action taken by the operator in September 2024 after a customer opted to self-exclude
The post ACMA hands warning to Winners Bookmaking for self-exclusion contraventions first appeared on EGR Intel.