The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has recently taken enforcement action against Pointsbet for failing to comply with the requirements under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (Cth) (IGA) relating to Australia’s national self-exclusion register, BetStop. This article examines this enforcement action undertaken by the ACMA and the key takeaways for wagering operators.
Launched in August 2023, BetStop is Australia’s national self-exclusion register that allows individuals experiencing gambling harm to exclude themselves from all Australian wagering services. It forms part of the National Consumer Protection Framework for Online Wagering; a suite of consumer protection measures designed to reduce the harm of online wagering to Australian consumers.
Under the IGA, once a person registers with BetStop, wagering service providers (WSPs) must:
The ACMA’s recent investigations in relation to PointsBet followed the receipt of complaints from consumers that PointsBet had failed to comply with certain of these obligations under the IGA. A summary of the ACMA’s investigation and key findings is outlined below.
The ACMA’s investigation into PointsBet commenced in February 2024 and related to a number of issues with PointsBet’s internal systems and processes which impacted its ability to comply with its BetStop-related obligations. More specifically:
The ACMA’s investigation in relation to PointsBet’s conduct was forensic. The ACMA examined thousands of messages sent by PointsBet to its customers (including, in particular, push notifications sent to customers across a variety of devices and messaging platforms) and found that PointsBet had sent 508 marketing messages to self-excluded individuals in August and September 2023. The investigation also found that PointsBet failed to close 228 accounts of registered individuals with no outstanding bets ‘as soon as practicable’ (which the ACMA considered to be 7 days), and it had also failed to close 7 accounts of registered individuals with outstanding bets after those bets had been resolved. Further, the ACMA found that PointsBet had failed to promote BetStop in 22,360 push notifications to customers by not including the minimum information required in each promotional message (which includes a reference to BetStop, a statement to the effect that BetStop is the national self-exclusion register and a hyperlink to the BetStop website). Importantly though, the ACMA did not find any evidence that registered individuals were able to place bets with PointsBet during this period.
As a result of the ACMA’s findings, PointsBet was required to provide the ACMA with a court-enforceable undertaking to audit its compliance framework, carry out further staff training, implement a BetStop compliance policy and to self-report on any future instances of non-compliance with the IGA. While PointsBet did not receive a monetary penalty for contravening the IGA, it was fined $500,800 for breaching spam legislation by sending over 800 messages with direct links to its wagering products without an unsubscribe function.
In light of the ACMA’s investigation into PointsBet, wagering operators in Australia should ensure the following:
The ACMA’s enforcement action against PointsBet demonstrates its strict approach to compliance with the BetStop requirements under the IGA. ACMA Chair, Nerida O’Loughlin stated that there are ‘no excuses for gambling companies that fail to understand their legal obligations [under the IGA]’. In light of this, wagering operators in Australia must understand their compliance obligations under the IGA and implement robust policies, procedures and systems to ensure they are operating in compliance with them.