Sportsbet handed A$135,000 fine for breach of ad regulations
Australian operator on receiving end of sanctions for second time in 2021 after being found guilty of two offences
Sportsbet has been fined A$135,000 (£74,000) after being found guilty of historic marketing malpractices following investigations by Liquor & Gaming NSW, an agency of the New South Wales government.
The Flutter Entertainment-owned brand was sanctioned on Friday 5 November at the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney due to two infringements within the last 12 months.
Between October 2020 and March 2021, Sportsbet account holders received prohibited gambling advertisement via emails from the operator after they had withdrawn consent to receive direct marketing.
Customers made repeated attempts to unsubscribe from the marketing materials but were unsuccessful due to the “confusing functionality of the unsubscribe option”.
The second infringement, found between 2 and 24 November 2020, followed an audit of Sportsbet social media accounts, which found prohibited gambling ads referring to Treasure Punt were found.
The two incidents were deemed offences under the Betting and Racing Act 1998, which states it is an offence to publish gambling advertising that acts as an inducement to bet or to open a betting account, and that it is unlawful to continue to provide direct advertising after an account holder has withdrawn consent to receive such advertisements.
In response to the ruling, a Sportsbet spokesperson told EGR: “While the Court accepted there was no deliberate wrongdoing, we are nonetheless disappointed to have fallen short of our obligations.
“We have undertaken a power of work to ensure breaches like this cannot occur again,” they added.
Liquor & Gaming NSW confirmed Sportsbet holds the right to appeal against the sentence imposed.
Marcel Savary, Liquor & Gaming NSW compliance director, commented: “Liquor & Gaming NSW consistently expresses concerns to industry about gambling advertising and will continue to monitor compliance with these laws and take strong action for serious and blatant offending.”
This is the second time Sportsbet has found itself in the courts for breaching gambling advertising restriction after being fined A$22,000 in March 2021.