- ACMA goes after Unibet for breaches related to the National Self-Exclusion Register
- More than 950 user accounts that were excluded through BetStop were not blocked by Unibet
- The regulator called this a “very serious” failure and gave the operator an AU$1 million fine
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) put out a new statement on its own website. This press release explains Betchoice Corporation Pty Ltd, which does business as Unibet, now has a big fine for not following the self-exclusion rules for gambling in Australia.
These breaches had serious impact. ACMA made one of its biggest fines against a licensed gambling company. Unibet got a penalty of AU$1,014,120.
ACMA reported Unibet did not shut down 954 user accounts for people who already signed up with the BetStop national self-exclusion program. The law says these users should not be allowed on Unibet, but the company did not block them.
ACMA Explains How Serious the Problem Is?
ACMA found there were 100,000 violations of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 because of this issue. Carolyn Lidgerwood, who works at ACMA and handles gambling, said Unibet’s mistake showed problems with its self-exclusion system that put players in danger:
“Our investigation showed Unibet broke the rules in a big way for a long time. In some situations, accounts took 190 days to close. That cannot be allowed. People chose to stop gambling, but Unibet did not act quickly enough,” Lidgerwood said.
“The NSER rules make sure people have to make an active choice to gamble again. This does not really work if old accounts stay open and they can just log in.”
The BetStop program started on August 21, 2023. This program replaced all state-based programs and gave Australia one national way to reduce gambling harm. By April, BetStop recorded 40,000 users.
Old Accounts, Slow Action
Even though users did not bet during their exclusion, ACMA noted Unibet still failed to close 954 accounts in time.
Out of these, 45 accounts were open for over 190 days. There were 45 users who placed bets again by using old accounts after the exclusion period ended. Under NSER rules, these accounts should have stayed closed, so letting them reopen broke the rules.
From the start, these accounts should have been closed. ACMA mentioned one user put in over 1,200 bets on an old account.
Unibet has agreed to go through a two-year independent review. This review will monitor if the company follows every rule and meets all requirements.
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