Sportsbet, a leading online gaming operator from Australia owned by Flutter Entertainment, is facing a class-action lawsuit for allegedly engaging in illegal in-play betting practices.
Australian law firm Maurice Blackburn filed the class-action lawsuit and was filed at the Supreme Court of Victoria. The lawsuit is centred around the “Fast Code” service offered by Sportsbet that allowed live betting on sports events for six years, or between 24 December 2018 and 24 December 2024.
Australian gambling laws prohibit betting on live events unless the consumers place the wager via their phone. According to Maurice Blackburn, Sportsbet broke the law by encouraging consumers to create a code online and then claim it on their mobile phones.
Moreover, Maurice Blackburn says that this practice is illegal and doesn’t follow the gambling regulations imposed by the government, arguing that Sportsbet was untruthful about the service and conducted business in a misleading and/or deceptive manner, going against Australian consumer law.
What is even more alarming is that this is not the first time Sportsbet has come under fire for offering its “Fast Code” betting feature.
More specifically, the operator was investigated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (AMCA) back in 2023. Back then, the agency discovered that Sportsbet and other online operators had broken federal laws by allowing in-game betting through their websites.
After the probe by the ACMA, the operators in question changed their services and features to comply with Australian consumer law, however, Maurice Blackburn insists that Sportsbet’s earlier use of the feature led many consumers to lose a lot of money.
According to the law firm, the main plaintiff has lost over $2,300 through the “Fast Code” service in the period between 2019 and 2021. In addition to the main plaintiff, the class-action lawsuit aims to include thousands of consumers who lost money during the period of six years when the betting service was live.
While Flutter Entertainment, the owner of the operator, hasn’t responded to these claims yet, if the lawsuit is successful, Sportsbet could be forced to pay back millions to consumers affected by the feature.
However, experts expect a fierce legal battle in court, as reputational and financial repercussions would be tremendous for Flutter Entertainment, one of the biggest companies in iGaming.
