Some of Australia’s biggest gambling companies have been caught facilitating illegal in-play bets on sporting matches, leading to calls for money to be returned to punters.
The ruling by the Australian Media and Communications Agency (Acma) comes as the federal government continues to consult with the online gambling industry and public health experts about tougher regulation.
Australian gamblers cannot place bets on events that have already started, under laws designed to limit match-fixing and reduce harm to people with gambling addiction. But bets can be placed solely over the phone.
In recent years, some bookmakers have allowed clients to place bets on smartphone apps that generate an alphabetic “fast code”, which can then be cited when they call the company to place a bet on the phone. This can be done after a game has started.
In June, Acma launched a formal investigation into the practice after receiving a complaint alleging the fast codes were allowing gambling companies to bypass the ban on live betting.
Acma has now ruled that Sportsbet, Bet365 and Entain, which runs the Ladbrokes and Neds brands, breached the Interactive Gambling Act by accepting bets that were not made entirely over the phone.
“Following the investigations, all three operators have taken steps to ensure their use of fast/quick codes complies with relevant interactive gambling rules,” an Acma spokesperson said. “In view of these steps taken, the Acma has decided not to take any further enforcement action at this time.”
Sportsbet, Entain and Hillside, which run bet365, did not agree with the Acma ruling and argued that all betting information was provided over the phone. The regulator did not agree.
“Customers are not able to place in-play wagers within seconds and must speak to operators fully trained in responsible gambling. Any abnormal and/or red flag behaviour is investigated and passed through to the responsible gambling team,” Entain unsuccessfully argued, according to Acma.
Lauren Levin, a longtime harm reduction campaigner with Financial Counselling Australia, said the Acma decision was “momentous” and called for gambling companies to return any losses from the bets.
“Arguably these bets, being prohibited by the law, should be made void and consumers should be entitled to refunds,” Levin said. “It cannot follow that companies should be allowed to profit from offering an illegal service.”
Levin was also critical of Acma for not penalising the gambling companies over the breach.
“In 2016, Acma got a swathe of civil penalties to be able to be a more effective regulator,” Levin said. “However, the companies have got off lightly with a promise to ‘tinker and fix a few bits, so we’re within the loophole.”
Acma has previously enforced maximum fines for illegal betting.
In April, it found Entain had accepted 78 illegal bets on the 2022 LIV golf tournament in Bangkok. The company was fined $13,200, which is minuscule in comparison to the turnover Ladbrokes and Neds generate in an industry worth an estimated $50bn annually, but the maximum that can be imposed.
Entain was contacted for comment.
In recent weeks, the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, has held extensive stakeholder meetings with anti-gambling researchers and campaigners, along with public health academics.
Rowland is still working on the federal government’s response to a parliamentary inquiry, which finished in June and recommended sweeping changes to the online gambling industry, including a total ban on advertising after a three year adjustment period.
Rowland was contacted for comment.
