The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has fined PointsBet Australia AU$ 500,800 ($321,413) for breaching the Gambling Act’s self-exclusion and e-marketing laws.
More specifically, after conducting a thorough investigation, the ACMA found that PointsBet Australia sent more than 800 messages that breached spam laws.
In addition to this violation, the ACMA also revealed that PointsBet circumvented laws that relate to BetStop, the Australian national self-exclusion register (NSER).
According to the details of the investigation, PointsBet did this by closing the accounts of users who had already registered with the service, and by sending marketing and promotional messages that target self-excluded individuals.
What makes this even more concerning is the fact that PointsBet sent 705 emails between September and November 2023 that contained a direct link to its betting services without featuring a self-exclusion function.
Moreover, not only did the operator promote its services in an unethical manner, but the emails sent by PointsBet also falsely advertised the services as “non-commercial”, which in turn made them subject to the very spam rules the platform breached.
Nerida O’Loughlin, Chair of the Australian Communications and Media Authority, commented on the development and expressed concern with PointsBet’s misleading practices that even targeted individuals who took measures to exclude themselves from online gambling:
It is deeply concerning that these failures have impacted PointsBet’s customers, some of whom had taken proactive steps to exclude themselves from online wagering. People signing up for the NSER are taking positive steps to remove online gambling from their lives. Their decision must not be compromised by companies like PointsBet. Wagering providers must also appropriately identify where messages promote or advertise their services and ensure that those messages comply with the rules, including the obligation to promote the NSER.
