Liquor & Gaming NSW fines SportChamps over bonus inducements

Liquor & Gaming NSW has fined a sports betting company over breaches of the state’s bonus inducement policies in the gambling sector. The regulator said that the company in question, SportChamps, has breached the rules and was handed down an AU$17,500 fine after admitting fault in the matter.

The case was taken to the Downing Center Local Court where the company acknowledged shortcomings in its marketing strategy and accepted the regulator’s decision. Liquor & Gaming NSW Executive Director Regulatory Operations, Jane Lin, reminded SportChamps that the company had faced similar rulings in five previous cases since 2017, stressing that the operator must step up its efforts to ensure that such incidents do not happen in the future.

The infringement dating to the latest case that breaches the Betting and Racing Act has to do with a Facebook post that said "Punt for free. Learn the game!" and another one that urged players to "Receive a free bet each day." Such bonus inducements are prohibited, and the only recipients of bonus options are customers who have registered and manually confirmed that they would like to receive such communications in the first place.

"Wagering operators can legally advertise their products in various ways, but they can’t advertise or promote inducements such as offers of increased odds or bonus bets to entice people to open a betting account," Lin explained.

The regulator concluded that SportChamps was attempting to secure new customers at a time of a particularly challenging local gaming environment. The penalty in such instances could be up to AU$110,000 for a business that breaches the regulation, and AU$11,000 for individuals.

This comes at a time when the state has been pushing into an expanded cashless gaming trial as an attempt to curb illegal gambling, money-laundering, and bolster consumer protection, especially in the instances of underage gambling.

The state has also celebrated the efforts made by establishments to remove gambling signage as part of the jurisdiction’s most recent efforts to shield the public from pernicious gambling influences.

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