Allowing a self-excluded punter to open a second account has cost corporate bookmaker CrossBet a $14,960 fine from the Northern Territory Wagering and Racing Commission, despite it identifying the issue within 24 hours.
The punter, who permanently self-excluded when he held a CrossBet account in March 2021, sought to establish a new account in April 2024.
The new account had slightly different details that the original self-excluded account, including variations on the first name, email and mobile numbers, but did have the same registered address.
The punter immediately deposited $60 into the account and placed a series of bets over a two-hour period before the balance came back to zero.
By 12:30pm the next day CrossBet had identified that the person was self-excluded and closed his account.
The person then complained to the Commission that he was allowed to bet as a self-excluded person.
While CrossBet said the customer had used “entirely different details” to open the second account, the Commission disagreed. It also rejected CrossBet’s claim that it did not knowingly permit the complainant to bet, because the account was opened outside the usual operating hours of its responsible gambling team.
“The Commission finds this argument flawed, given that CrossBet’s compliance obligations under the 2019 Code are not dependent on the operating hours of CrossBet’s responsible gambling team,” the Commission said.
“It is reasonable for the Commission to expect that CrossBet’s ‘after hours’ automated checking processes against self-exclusion databases should have been robust enough to prevent the Complainant from opening an account.”
The Commission rejected another argument put forward by CrossBet that the fine should be reduced based on the size of the operation.
It levied a fine of 85 penalty units, half of what it could have under its guidelines, which on 2024 unites added up to $14,960.
It was also ordered to repay the $60 deposit to the complainant.
Warwick Barr
