Ouch! Noah Rose is sure to be feeling the heat after copping an AU$50,172 fine from The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), a federal government agency, for spamming people via SMS for his services as BetDeluxe. That’s right, it’s not just gambling authorities in Australia that can get involved in overseeing gambling operations. If you fall foul of marketing regulations more broadly, it’s not a matter of if you’ll get fined, but when.
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The ACMA gets tough
The ACMA has been on a spree of late, doing deep investigations into companies who have been accused of going outside of spam and telemarketing regulations within the country. And it’s netted the Authority some pretty big fish, including Sportsbet, a leading Australian sportsbook, who had to cough up an eye-watering $3.7 million in 2022 in refunds and fines.
In less than two years, operators from all industries have had to pay penalties amounting to the tune of $6.4m because of spam and telemarketing law violations. Moreover, ACMA has even accepted 13 court-enforceable proceedings, resulting in several official warnings.
According to ACMA chairperson Nerida O’Loughlin, in this sector, irrespective of whether you’re a ‘big gun’ or not, it’s imperative to follow laws, because audits are an ongoing occurrence. Non-compliance and failing to adhere to spam rules, bombarding customers with ads promoting the best Australian no deposit bonuses or similar offers is unacceptable and subject to serious penalties.
BetDeluxe on the receiving end
BetDeluxe is registered as a sole trader business to Noah Rose, a prominent figure in the horse racing industry in Australia, who existed as a physical bookmaker before launching BetDeluxe online with the BetMakers platform at the core. As you could guess, BetDeluxe has a key focus on horse racing betting.
Over three months from December 2021, BetDeluxe sent over 104,000 SMS messages to people that contained no unsubscribe function (a big no-no for businesses), plus over 820,000 SMS that did not contain the business’s contact details (another black mark). The contents of the SMS ranged from promos and bonuses to other offers. The SMS sent without the option to opt out really drew the ire of the ACMA Chair, as they explained the severity of the impact of gambling-related harm speaking to the necessity of the opt out function.
Along with the AU$50,172 fine, BetDeluxe is required to undergo independent review and improvements of its e-marketing efforts for the next two years, plus regular compliance reporting and training in spam.
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The bigger picture
As gambling losses increase within the country, now hitting over $2500 on average per head of population, and gambling operator profits soar, with over $50 billion in just the sports betting sector last year, the crackdown on operators will certainly continue. There are a number of agencies and bodies that have the authority to fine gambling operators including:
- Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
- Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC)
- Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR)
- Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA)\
- Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR)
- Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
- Northern Territory Racing Commission (NTRC)
- Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission (TLGC)
- Department of Customer Service, NSW
- Australian Federal Police (AFP)
- Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
- Department of Health
- National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE)
- National Rugby League (NRL)
- Australian Football League (AFL)
With so many different agencies involved, gambling companies must be very careful to follow the rules and regulations of the bodies that govern and oversee their operations so they can avoid fines and penalties. When in doubt, operators are urged to get in contact with the relevant body or bodies for further guidance on compliance and regulations. This way it not only avoids fines and penalties on the operator side, but also time and money spent on the agency side, too, which are often publicly-funded institutions.
Other ACMA targets in focus
The ACMA hasn’t stopped at spammers in the gambling industry. Along with a steep rise in sports betting there has also been a steep rise in another form of online gambling – online casinos, and in particular those that run illegal offshore gambling and affiliate marketing operations in Australia.
When an illegal operation is uncovered by the ACMA they request that Australian ISPs remove access to the particular website for all their customers. Since 2019, almost 700 sites have been pulled from the Australian public. While cunning gambling still circumvents these website blocks via geo-block skirting, usually through the use of VPN services, the ACMA reminds players that they may not be assured of a particular website’s legality. By removing access to these websites, the ACMA is determined to implement further player protections, particularly from scam websites.
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