Unibet Fined Over AU$1 Million for Breaches of Australia’s Self-Exclusion Rules
An investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) uncovered more than 100,000 breaches of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, with some customers’ accounts remaining active for up to 190 days despite being self-excluded.
Betchoice, trading as Unibet, has been hit with a fine exceeding AU$1 million after failing to close the accounts of over 900 customers who had registered with BetStop, Australia’s National Self-Exclusion Register (NSER).
An investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) uncovered more than 100,000 breaches of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, with some customers’ accounts remaining active for up to 190 days despite being self-excluded.
According to ACMA, 45 accounts stayed open for 190 days or more, including several belonging to individuals who signed up to self-exclude on day one of BetStop’s launch. Although no bets were placed during their exclusion period, the accounts should have been deactivated promptly.
ACMA also identified a separate compliance failure in which 45 customers were able to place bets using old accounts after their self-exclusion had ended. In one extreme case, a customer placed over 1,200 bets through a reactivated account that should have been closed.
Under Australian law, once an individual is registered with the NSER, licensed wagering operators are required to close that person’s account “as soon as practicable.” If the individual later chooses to resume betting, they must open a new account—old accounts must not be reactivated.
ACMA Member and lead on gambling issues, 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.”
She 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.”
In addition to the financial penalty, Unibet has entered into a two-year court-enforceable undertaking with the ACMA, committing to improve its compliance processes and ensure future adherence to responsible gambling obligations.
This comes just weeks after PointsBet Australia was fined a hefty AU$500,800.
