Australia’s Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission (NTRWC) has ruled that BlueBet breached responsible gambling laws, labelling the operator’s conduct as “unacceptable”.
BlueBet was found to have allowed one user to deposit more than A$700,000 (£336,371) within a four-month period before the company conducted affordability checks.
In turn, the operator has been fined $53,380, the maximum penalty payment the regulator is able to issue for such an offense.
The fine is a cumulative total for two breaches, which each brought separate fines of A$26,690.
The player in question deposited A$40,000 in an 11-hour period, having started with a balance of $0.74.
The player made zero withdrawals during the session, and although he won significant sums, was eventually left with a balance of A$4,000.
The individual made 250 bets during the session, often “within seconds or minutes of each other”. They also made calls to BlueBet to ask for bonus bets throughout the session.
During the process, BlueBet granted the user VIP status and appointed a personal manager that the regulator has ruled was more focused on “limiting BlueBet’s losses rather than addressing wagering concerns”.
The signs, acknowledged by the NTRWC, include gambling expenditure, patterns of expenditure, time indicators (the user had two 11-hour playing sessions), not withdrawing winnings and interactions with BlueBet staff.
The complainant also argued that BlueBet only took action once harm had already occurred, action that was deemed “inadequate” by the complainant.
The NTRWC has detailed that when the user expressed concern to BlueBet that they had run out of money to gamble with, they were provided with bonus bets and deposit matches, as well as additional funds placed directly into their account.
In one instance, the user requested his account be closed after losing A$4,000 in one day and being initially denied bonus bets from a VIP manager.
Two minutes after, the individual asked for his account to be closed, the VIP host returned with A$500 in bonus bets.
The regulator has argued that BlueBet prioritised keeping a profitable customer betting rather than its legislated responsible gambling responsibilities.
It also addressed the fact that the VIP manager, alongside a base salary from BlueBet, also received commission related to the user’s net gambling revenue.
When submitting its response to the complainant to the regulator, BlueBet claimed it had taken “appropriate and timely action”, including prompts to review account settings and opportunities to reduce or stop betting entirely.
A call was made by BlueBet to the user, one the operator described as a “responsible gambling check-in”, though the regulator has explained the unanswered call actually stemmed from “payment processing issues”.
The player continued to gamble one day after the call was made, requesting more bonus bets in the process.
The NTRWC explained: “Given the numerous earlier red flags, it is extremely concerning that it took the Complainant himself reaching out to BlueBet for his account to be closed.
“With numerous warning signs already in place, BlueBet should have taken more proactive measures to intervene before the situation had reached this point.
“BlueBet missed multiple opportunities for timely and appropriate action and it’s disappointing that the responsibility fell on the complainant rather than BlueBet taking a more assertive role in protecting the complainant from further harm.”
The post BlueBet fined A$53,000 for “unacceptable” responsible gambling failings first appeared on EGR Intel.
Operator’s inactivity in spotting signs of gambling-related harm criticised by Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission
The post BlueBet fined A$53,000 for “unacceptable” responsible gambling failings first appeared on EGR Intel.