ACMA probe exposes more than 300 bets in Palmerbet self-exclusion failure
A compliance failure left a Palmerbet customer able to wager for months after entering BetStop, prompting an ACMA investigation.
Palmerbet has been forced to repay all deposits made by a BetStop-registered customer after the bookmaker failed to close their account for almost 18 months.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority found Palmer Bookmaking Pty Ltd, trading as Palmerbet, breached online gambling self-exclusion rules by continuing to provide wagering services to a client registered with the National Self-Exclusion Register.
The customer signed up to BetStop in September 2023, but Palmerbet did not close the account until February 2025.
During that period, the customer placed 312 bets with the bookmaker between December 2024 and February 2025, according to the ACMA investigation.
Under the BetStop rules, wagering providers must close an account as soon as practicable once a customer registers with the national self-exclusion scheme.
They are also prohibited from providing online wagering services to a person who has entered BetStop.
Palmerbet has now entered into an 18-month court-enforceable undertaking with the ACMA in response to the investigation.
As part of the undertaking, the bookmaker has committed to an independent review of its compliance systems and processes.
It must also make the investment necessary to implement any improvements recommended by the review.
The bookmaker has separately repaid all deposits the customer made from the date of their BetStop registration until the account was closed.
The ACMA said the case highlighted the obligations placed on wagering providers once a customer enters the national self-exclusion register.
BetStop allows Australians to exclude themselves from all participating licensed online and mobile wagering services through a single registration, rather than self-excluding with individual bookmakers.
The Palmerbet undertaking comes as Australia’s online gambling harm-minimisation rules remain under scrutiny, with the ACMA able to investigate breaches and accept court-enforceable undertakings from wagering providers.
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