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Australian corporate bookmaker and takeover focus PointsBet has been fined A$500,800 ($322,000) and forced to improve compliance practices after spamming customers and gaming the national self-exclusion register.
Online gambling regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), found that PointsBet Australia sent more than 800 illegal spam messages, including more than 500 to former customers registered with BetStop, the national self-exclusion register (NSER).
The messages to BetStop registrants themselves constitute a separate offence, and an ACMA statement on Friday (May 16) said that PointsBet is the first gambling operator to suffer an enforcement undertaking relating to BetStop.
The ACMA investigation report into NSER violations found that PointsBet racked up 508 “recklessness” contraventions by spamming individuals, 736 and 19 contraventions, respectively, by not closing wagering accounts without and with outstanding bets, and 22,360 contraventions by failing to promote the NSER.
The enforcement undertaking, which lasts 18 months, includes an internal audit of its compliance capacities, a reform implementation plan, staff NSER training and a written report to the ACMA every six months.
PointsBet had been “delaying closing accounts of customers who had registered” with BetStop, the statement said, though it added that “no excluded customers were able to place bets with PointsBet during the period investigated”.
All of the offences took place around August 2023, when BetStop launched, and the following November.
However, “imposition of a financial penalty was not available to the ACMA for the NSER breaches due to the complex and novel matters investigated”.
Instead, the statement added, “a failure to comply with an enforceable undertaking can lead to court-ordered financial penalties”.
Most of the emails sent by PointsBet contained direct links to “betting products without including an unsubscribe function.
“The emails were mischaracterised by PointsBet as ‘non-commercial’ despite promoting their services, making them subject to the spam rules.
“PointsBet also sent seven marketing emails without recipient consent and 90 commercial texts that did not have sender contact information.”
ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin called PointsBet’s breaches “deeply concerning” given the active targeting of vulnerable former customers.
“People signing up to the NSER are taking positive steps to remove online gambling from their lives. Their decision must not be compromised by companies like PointsBet,” she said.
PointsBet is currently subject to a bidding battle between Betr Entertainment, the trading name of Australian listco BlueBet, and Japanese-owned MIXI Australia.
The PointsBet board has supported the MIXI offer to the annoyance of major shareholders. But a revised Betr offer in recent weeks appears to have narrowed the contest, with PointsBet reportedly pursuing due diligence on the new document.
