ACMA slaps Unibet with AU$1m penalty over self-exclusion failings

• ACMA goes after Unibet for breaches related to the National Self-Exclusion Register
• More than 950 user accounts who had been excluded with BetStop were not blocked at Unibet
• This failing was criticized by the regulator, who described the failings as "very serious," slapping the operator with AU$1m penalty

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has published a new press statement on its official website in which it detailed a financial penalty against Betchoice Corporation Pty Ltd, trading as Unibet, due to failings in enforcing the country’s self-exclusion rules for gambling.

The breaches were serious enough to mandate one of the highest penalties issued by ACMA against a regulated company, with the watchdog announcing an AU$1,014,120 fine.

According to ACMA, Unibet failed to identify and close 954 accounts that belonged to players who had registered on BetStop national self-exclusion program, but were not excluded, as mandated by law, from the gambling operator’s platform, the watchdog said in a statement.

ACMA highlights the severity of the issue

There were 100,000 contraventions of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 identified by ACMA as a result. ACMA member and gambling lead Carolyn Lidgerwood argued that this was a particularly serious lapse in the operator’s National Self-Exclusion Register compliance processes, which put players at risk:

"Our investigation found very serious breaches by Unibet over a sustained period of time. 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," Lidgerwood said.

"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," she added.

The program was introduced on August 21, 2023, and it replaced existing state-level programs, allowing Australia to take a more organized approach towards minimizing gambling-related harm. In April, the program had hit a 40,000-registration milestone.

Old accounts raise regulatory heckles

While no bets were placed during the self-exclusion periods, ACMA found that Unibet failed to close 954 accounts in a timely manner.

This included 45 accounts that remained open for over 190 days. Additionally, 45 customers were able to place bets using old accounts after their exclusion period ended. Those accounts should have been permanently closed under the NSER rules in the first place, making their later reuse a breach of obligations.

ACMA alleged that these old accounts should have been closed in the first place. In one case, a customer was able to place more than 1,200 bets on their old accounts.

Unibet has also agreed to undergo a two-year independent review that will continue to assess whether the operator has complied with all rules and regulations.

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