Unibet Provider Penalized for breaching Australian Gambling Ad Rules

Bethoice operator has just been fined for breaking ad rules regarding Australian gambling practices. The provider has been penalized by the Sydney Downing central court in the amount of Aus $25000 ($17,115).

More about the Case

According to the court observations, Betchoice is responsible for making illegal offers of inducements to users located in New South Wales. Additionally, the court has found that the provider broke the local NSW Betting and Racing Act.

The charge comes from the company's advertisement published this past February. According to the ad, the enterprise announced: “Earn $50 CASH For Each Friend You Refer!” One more Betchoice advertisement was revealed in November last year when the company promoted The Canberra Times platform under the slogan “Deposit $20, Bet with $100.”

All these have been observed by local authorities as a legal breach. NSW Betting and Racing Act prohibit all types of betting that “includes any inducement to participate, or participate frequently, in any gambling activity (including an inducement to open a betting account).” It allows the agency to punish the company with up to $110,000.

On the other hand, the law states that similar promotions can only be offered to those who have a registered gambling account within the state where the ad is presented. Betchoice has breached this prescription as the advertisement has been available to anyone on the newspaper platform. At the same time, registered users of Betchoice platform were not required to log to see the relevant ads.

Reaction and Past Situations

Reacting on this case, Liquor & Gaming NSW director of compliance operations, Sean Goodchild said:

“Betting operators have an obligation to ensure that all advertising complies with NSW laws on gambling advertising. Inducements are known to increase the risk of gambling harm so any breaches are taken seriously.”

Unibet has been responsible for breaching gambling rules several times now. The company was punished with $7500 as well as an additional $5000 in 2015. The provider has recently received a €470,000 fine from Dutch gambling authority Kansspelautoriteit. The company has been punished as it targeted Dutch users without legal authorization for such action.

NSW Betting and Racing Act have been created due to the huge risk of gambling harm. The Act will allow local agencies to react quickly to serious breaches of the law.

Source:

“Unibet fined for violating Australian gambling advertising regulations“, Ad Miral, calvinayre.com, December 19, 2019.