Unibet fined for breach of New South Wales marketing laws
Operator’s Betchoice subsidiary ordered to pay $25,000 for Australian marketing failings
Unibet’s Australian subsidiary Betchoice has been ordered to pay a $25,000 fine for a breaching marketing laws in New South Wales (NSW).
The penalty was handed down by Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court this week after the operator was convicted for offering illegal gambling inducements.
The offer in question appeared on the Unibet website in February 2019 and The Canberra Times website back in November 2018.
The two ads in breach read: “Earn $50 CASH For Each Friend You Refer!” and “Deposit $20, Bet with $100”.
Under the NSW Betting and Racing Act, it is an offence to publish a gambling advertisement that “includes any inducement to participate, or participate frequently, in any gambling activity (including an inducement to open a betting account)”.
These types of promotions are only legal for registered betting account holders in NSW.
A Kindred Group spokesperson told EGR Intel: “Kindred has compliance at the heart of our business and strives to work with local regulators to ensure a fact based and sustainable regulatory environment.
“The recent fine proves that we have failed in this case and we have made appropriate adjustments to avoid this from happening going forward.”
Liquor & Gaming NSW director of compliance operations Sean Goodchild added: “Betting operators have an obligation to ensure that all advertising complies with NSW laws on gambling advertising.
“Inducements are known to increase the risk of gambling harm so any breaches are taken seriously.
“Under new laws that recently came into effect, wagering operators found guilty of promoting inducements to gamble face fines of up to $110,000 per offence and company directors can be individually and criminally liable,” he added.
Neds, Tabcorp and PointsBet have been hit with similar sanctions over the last 12 months.