The Australian operation of betting exchange Betfair has been hit with a massive $871,660 penalty for breaching spam laws.
An Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) investigation found Betfair sent 148 emails and text messages between March and December 2024 to customers who had not consented or had withdrawn their consent to receive such messages.
It was also found to have sent six text messages and emails over that period, which did not contain an option for customers to unsubscribe.
ACMA said the messages were sent to members of a Betfair VIP program. They contained inducements such as account deposits and free tickets.
Under the Spam Act, ACMA can levy significant fines. It has imposed $16.6 million in spam penalties in the past 18 months and opted to come down hard on the betting exchange.
“VIP programs are generally designed to attract and retain customers with high betting activity, however this doesn’t mean VIP customers are well off or can afford losses,” Authority member Samantha Yorke said.
“Sending promotional gambling messages to these customers without consent or with no option to opt-out is incredibly irresponsible in addition to being non-compliant.
Warwick Barr
“The spam laws have been in place for over twenty years and it is simply unacceptable for businesses not to respect the rights of their customers.”
As part of the ACMA action, Betfair has also entered into a two-year court-enforceable undertaking that will require it to invest in an independent review of its marketing messages and implement improvements.
It will also have to undertake staff training, quarterly internal audits and report to the ACMA regularly.
“This is the second recent ACMA enforcement action concerning VIP customers in the gambling sector. Providers are on notice that they need to have their compliance systems in order,” Yorke said.
Last month, Tabcorp was fined $4 million by ACMA for sending more than 5700 marketing messages to customers of its VIP program that broke Australia’s spam laws.
ACMA also imposed a $1 million fine on Unibet for breaching self-exclusion obligations, while PointsBet was fined over $500,000 for spam and self-exclusion infringements.
Bren O’Brien
