Six betting companies breached rules designed to protect problem gamblers from losing large sums of money while in the grips of addiction, an investigation by the media watchdog has found.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority found one gambler on the PickleBet platform was allowed to open an account just two minutes after the company was notified by an industry-wide register that he asked to be excluded from gambling.
ACMA concluded separate probes into Tabcorp, LightningBet, Betfocus, TempleBet, Picklebet and BetChamps which found that the wagering companies had failed to comply with BetStop, an opt-in national self-exclusion register that allows people with gambling addiction to block themselves from betting sites.
ACMA member Carolyn Lidgerwood said the breaches undermined the protections from the self-exclusion regime.
“The national self-exclusion register is designed to help people who are trying to avoid gambling services and stop gambling, but self-exclusion only works if wagering providers follow the rules,” Lidgerwood said.
“These rules have been in place for more than two years and wagering providers should be taking their responsibilities seriously.”
Tabcorp, the biggest of the six companies, has paid a $112,680 fine and agreed to commission a third-party review of its customer verification processes, and train staff on their regulatory obligations as part of a court-enforceable undertaking.
A report last year by Equity Economics, a consultancy, found that Australians lost more than $31.5 billion annually to all forms of gambling. The report was commissioned by the Alliance for Gambling Reform and Wesley Mission, both of which have campaigned against the sector.
ACMA’s investigative report found that Tabcorp’s internal control systems did not function as intended, and failed to stop people on the self-exclusion register opening new accounts.
Betfocus, LightningBet and TempleBet were each issued with remedial directions notices by the watchdog, requiring them to commission an independent audit of their internal systems and adopt any recommendations.
BetChamps was given a formal warning, while ACMA is still determining what action to take against PickleBet.
In its investigative report, ACMA found that PickleBet had allowed an individual on the self-exclusion register to open a new account just two minutes after the register operator had informed it that the person was excluded.
The watchdog said that this “suggests the ease in which the complainant was able to request to open an account with Picklebet”.
All of the gambling companies were contacted for comment.
The national self-exclusion register was launched in 2023, and as of late last year, has about 30,000 people registered. ACMA said all contraventions occurred in 2024, and noted that companies could face stronger action in the future if they failed to comply with self-exclusion, including Federal Court proceedings to seek civil penalties.
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Kishor Napier-Raman is a senior business writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Previously he worked as a CBD columnist and reporter in the federal parliamentary press gallery.Connect via X or email.
