Betr fined in Australia over marketing breach
News Corp-backed brand has been fined A$20,655 for marketing to a self-excluded player and encouraging them to sign up
Betr has been fined A$20,655 (£17,071.36) by the Northern Territory Racing Commission for breaching its online gambling code of conduct.
The News Corp-backed operator directly marketed itself to a self-excluded player (referred to as ‘Mr M’) with an offer to open a betting account.
The regulator stated that Betr had contacted the player by phone and text message in early October, shortly after he had joined the self-exclusion register.
This register allows players to voluntarily cut themselves off from all Northern Territories-based operators with the option of severing ties forever.
Betr claims that it was not made aware of Mr M being on the self-exclusion register when they contacted him, a claim the commission refutes.
In a statement, the regulator said: “Commission records indicate that Betr did receive a copy of the full list of self-excluded persons on 5 October 2022, which included Mr M’s details.”
The Racing Commission added: “These communications took place between 5 and 10 October 2022, which was shortly prior to Betr’s launch and before its customer database had finished being populated with and cross-checked by reference to all self-exclusion data provided by the commission.”
It was also noted that due to Betr having experienced igaming veterans at the helm, it should have known the rules around this kind of marketing.
It said: “Although Betr is a new licensee, the management of Betr has been in the industry for many years, holding similar positions within other Territory-licensed bookmakers.
“The Commission is therefore very disappointed that, under their leadership, affiliates and employees were permitted to contact any persons without having ensured the process of entering all of Territory self-exclusions into the Betr systems was completed.”
Betr launched in October and offered punters 100/1 odds on all bets up to A$10 on the Melbourne Cup.
The online wagering group is also under investigation in New South Wales after a print ad campaign may have broken advertising laws.