Unibet and bet365 plead guilty to Aus advertising breach

Unibet and bet365 were today found guilty of breaching New South Wales’ (NSW) advertising laws as the Australian state continues its crackdown on illegal gambling advertising.

The two online gambling companies were prosecuted by the NSW’s Office of Liqour, Gaming & Racing (OLGR) and found guilty by the Downing Centre Local Court for a total of five breaches, all related to the offer of gambling inducements.

Following today’s decision Unibet, which pleaded guilty to three advertising breaches, will be forced to pay a total of $7,500 (?3,600) in fines, while bet365 pleaded guilty to two counts and was fined $5,000 (?2,400).

All five advertising breaches were related to bonus, refund and sign-up offers promoted across the operators’ respective websites.

Under NSW’s Betting and Racing Regulation 2012, online gambling operators are prohibited from conducting any type of advertising that entices state residents to participate in gambling activity.

Unibet and bet365 are the latest operators to be prosecuted by the OLGR following previous convictions of a number of sports betting operators including rival firm Ladbrokes.

NSW has been one of the most active Australian states in attempting to stamp out illegal gambling advertising and last year become the first state to ban the advertising of live betting odds during sporting broadcasts.

A ban on the promotion of in-play prices comes into force on 1 March 2016 and operators found to be in violation could face fines of up to AU$55,000 (?25,700) per incident.