Betting app Dabble fined $1 million by ACMA for breaching BetStop rules
Dabble, a social media-linked betting platform, has been slapped with more than $1 million in penalties after it breached self-exclusion laws, kept the accounts of more than 150 problem gamblers open and sent marketing material to them more than 800 times.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) on Wednesday announced its investigation into the wagering platform – that allows users to copy bets from friends, former sports stars or other personalities – found a range of breaches of national self-exclusion laws known as BetStop.
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The ACMA said Dabble, for which betting giant Tabcorp paid $33 million for a 20 per cent stake in 2022, failed to close 157 wagering accounts after the account holders registered with BetStop.
The betting platform founded by former PointsBet and CrownBet executive Tom Rundle in 2020 and known for its sponsorship of the National Basketball League and Supercars Championship, also sent 165 self-excluded people a total of 839 electronic messages as either SMS, emails or app push notifications, the ACMA found.
BetStop was launched in 2023 as part of Australia’s self-exclusion laws aimed at allowing gamblers fearing or fighting addiction to have all of their accounts closed. Operators must also cease sending them marketing. Additionally, signing up to BetStop bans an individual from opening a new account with any platform licensed to operate in Australia.
Wagering companies are obliged to inform customers about BetStop in any electronic messages promoting or advertising gambling. The ACMA also found Dabble sent 45 customers more than 2000 push notifications without including information about BetStop, in breach of the laws.
Dabble posted a $14.4 million profit last year.
ACMA member Carolyn Lidgerwood said “these were serious breaches by Dabble” which had the potential to cause real harm.
“People who register with BetStop have made a clear decision to exclude themselves from online wagering,” she said. “Providers must respect that decision by closing their accounts promptly and ensuring they are not targeted with gambling promotions.”
“BetStop is an important consumer protection measure, but it only works if wagering companies follow the rules,” Lidgerwood said.
The $1.069 million in penalties Dabble has now paid were part of a two-year court-enforceable undertaking, requiring the company to conduct an independent review of its compliance systems and make the investment required to implement recommended improvements.
“If Dabble breaches its undertaking, the ACMA can take the company to court to enforce terms,” the regulator said.
When this masthead contacted Dabble’s publicly available email address for comment, its automated chatbot ROGER referred media inquiries to its public relations team. When asked for that email address, ROGER said: “We don’t have a publicly listed communications or public relations contact available for media inquiries.”
ROGER said Dabble’s only published contact details were a physical mailing address for its headquarters based in Darwin. Gambling industry critics have suggested that companies are drawn to register in the Northern Territory due to favourable tax and regulations.
The ACMA has previously come under fire for taking so long to conduct its investigations that it missed the 12-month window in which it could issue a penalty. Changes coming into effect next year extend the window to 24 months, and increase the maximum penalties for each breach of the rules.
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Elias Visontay is a National Consumer Affairs Reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.