An investigation by the media regulator found that the operator had failed to close the accounts of 954 customers who had registered with BetStop, which serves as Australia’s National Self-Exclusion Register (NSER).
The infringement equated to more than 100,000 violations of Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act (IGA) 2001.
The ACMA opened its investigation into Betchoice, which was trading as Unibet, in May 2024 after receiving a consumer complaint in February of the same year, which alleged that the operator failed to close the betting account of an NSER-registered individual.
Betchoice’s initial responses to ACMA queries found the operator had inadequate systems in place to check all of its customers against the BetStop register at regular intervals.
While Betchoice was able to check customers against the NSER when they first opened their accounts, the operator admitted it had not been closing the accounts of those who had flagged as self-excluded through its sending of marketing materials.
Betchoice also conceded there were “gaps in its general checking of the NSER”, meaning registered customers might not have been identified in a timely enough manner.
An ACMA statement read: “The ACMA acknowledges Betchoice’s submissions regarding the design, testing and implementation of its compliance-based procedures and systems.
“However, the ACMA is not satisfied that Betchoice has demonstrated it took reasonable precautions and exercised due diligence to avoid the contraventions to section 61MB(5) of the IGA.
“In failing to act to close relevant customer accounts as required, the ACMA considers that Betchoice did not take reasonable precautions and exercise due diligence to comply with its obligations.”
Out of the 954 accounts, the investigation found that 45 of them had remained open for 190 days or more.
These included customers who had self-excluded either online or by telephone on the first day the NSER went live in August 2023, although none of them actually placed a bet during their self-exclusion period.
The ACMA also found that Betchoice allowed a further 45 customers to place bets while they should have been self-excluded, doing so through old accounts that were supposed to be closed down.
According to the regulator, these customers were able to place “thousands of bets” through their accounts, with one customer placing 1,200 wagers through an old account. Another account made 628 bets, with a turnover of A$80,782.12 during the period.
Australia’s gambling legislation stipulates that players must be required to create a new account to wager through once their period of self-exclusion ends.
ACMA member Carolyn Lidgerwood said: “Our investigation found very serious breaches by Unibet over a sustained period of time.
“Taking, in some cases, 190 days to close accounts is clearly unacceptable and does not reflect the decisions made by Unibet customers to seek support to help them not gamble.
“The NSER rules are also there to ensure that people are making a clear and deliberate choice to recommence gambling. That is not the case if they can simply access old accounts.”
In addition to the fine, the ACMA has accepted a two-year, court-enforceable commitment from Unibet that will see the operator carry out a “comprehensive independent review of its compliance systems and processes and the implementation of recommended improvements”.
Unibet has also voluntarily offered to reimburse the affected customers, which was considered an “important commitment” by the regulator.
Lidgerwood added: “We recognise that no bets were made from these Unibet accounts or marketing sent while customers were self-excluded.
“However, this outcome puts the industry on notice that they must comply with the rules or face potential financial penalties and other actions available to the ACMA under the IGA.”
Last week, the ACMA issued PointsBet with a A$500,000 fine for self-exclusion breaches.
An ACMA investigation found the operator sent more than 500 marketing messages to self-excluded players between September and November 2023.
Elsewhere, the regulator has asked broadcasters to be more stringent when airing international live sporting events that featutre gambling advertising.
The ACMA said alternative feeds free of ads should be pursued, or remove both the physical and virtual ads from the feed via overlay ads.
EGR has contacted Unibet for comment.
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Australian media regulator sanctions the FDJ United operator after it failed to close the accounts of nearly 1,000 people who signed up to the country’s National Self-Exclusion Register
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