Unibet has been handed an AUS $1m (£480,700/€560,100) penalty after an investigation found social responsibility procedure failures in Australia.
An investigation conducted by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) discovered that the failure centred around the firm’s failure to close hundreds of accounts registered with Australia’s national gambling self-exclusion service.
This was amongst several breaches found in the country’s gambling act, significantly failing to stop the accounts of players registered with BetStop, Australia’s National Self-Exclusion Register (NESR).
Carolyn Lidgerwood, the ACMA’s Gambling Lead, detailed further insight into the authority’s investigation as she revealed that ‘very serious breaches by Unibet over a sustained period of time’ were found, adding that the amount of time taken to close some accounts was ‘clearly unacceptable’.
“We recognise that no bets were made from these Unibet accounts or marketing sent while customers were self-excluded,” she continued. “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.”
Unibet has a strong presence within the Australian market, having built a footprint in the region in 2012 following its acquisition of Betchoice, an online bookmaker headquartered in the Northern Territory.
Lidgerwood has also previously underpinned that the industry should be vigilant on why it is vital to comply with all forms of gaming law – perhaps having noted the changing political landscape around Australian gaming.
Lidgerwood concluded: “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.
“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.”
