Australia’s online gambling regulator has issued Unibet a A$1m (US$645,000) fine for failing to promptly close accounts of nearly 1,000 gamblers who joined the national self-exclusion register.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) on Wednesday (May 21) said it fined corporate bookmaker Unibet a total of A$1,014,120 for more than 100,000 contraventions of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA) involving 954 accounts.
The ACMA penalty is the second major fine against an online wagering operator in a week over flouting of national self-exclusion register (NSER) rules, with PointsBet Australia slugged more than A$500,000 on Friday over similar disregard for the BetStop network.
In Australia, the global brand Unibet is the trading name of Betchoice Corporation, a subsidiary of French multinational FDJ United, which acquired Betchoice and Unibet owner Kindred Group in late 2024.
Unibet failed to close the 954 accounts “as soon as practicable after they had registered on the NSER”, according to an ACMA statement.
“The investigation found that 45 of these customer accounts remained open for 190 days or more, including many who had registered to self-exclude from online and telephone betting on the first day of the NSER,” it said.
“While none of these self-excluded customers were able to place bets during their self-exclusion period, the accounts should have been closed.”
Unibet also took thousands of bets from another 45 customers who had ceased registration with BetStop and were using old accounts, which also “should have been closed” under IGA rules, the ACMA said.
“Our investigation found very serious breaches by Unibet over a sustained period of time,” ACMA member and gambling lead Carolyn Lidgerwood said.
“Taking in some cases 190 days to close accounts is clearly unacceptable and does not reflect the decisions made by Unibet customers to seek support to help them not gamble.
“The NSER rules are also there to ensure that people are making a clear and deliberate choice to recommence gambling. That is not the case if they can simply access old accounts.
“We recognise that no bets were made from these Unibet accounts or marketing sent while customers were self-excluded,” she said.
“However, this outcome puts the industry on notice that they must comply with the rules or face … financial penalties and other actions available to the ACMA under the IGA.”
The ACMA statement said Unibet has paid the fine, will issue refunds to appropriate customers and has accepted a two-year, court-enforceable undertaking to review compliance protocols and improve practices.
Northern Territory-registered Unibet’s record of penalties in Australia includes five convictions in New South Wales (NSW) state over a decade, most recently a A$60,000 fine plus costs in 2023 for running advertisements containing inducements to gamble.
Unibet was also fined A$51,900 in 2021, A$25,000 in 2019 and A$12,500 in 2016, all for advertising offences.