British gambling giant Entain Pty has faced a monetary penalty worth more than AU$13,000 for online in-play betting after it the competent Australian regulatory authority found that two of the company’s services had accepted illegal bets on a LIV golf tournament.
Several days ago, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found that the services of the Ladbrokes and Neds brands, which are currently owned by Entain, accepted a total of 78 in-play wagers on the final day of the LIV Golf tournament that was held in Bangkok in October 2022. An investigation into the company’s operations found that the move violated the country’s gambling legislation.
As a result, the British gambling company has been forced to pay an infringement notice of a total of AU$13,320, which is the maximum amount that could be imposed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority for this kind of breach of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. As revealed in a statement by the ACMA, this is the first infringement notice that the regulatory body has issued in terms of a violation of the in-play betting laws.
Nerida O’Loughlin, who currently chairs the aforementioned watchdog, noted that online in-play betting laws are aimed at protecting vulnerable people across the country. She further noted that so-called in-play bets offered by gambling operators increase the risk for people who already experience gambling-related harm because it provides fast outcomes and basically allows punters to place a higher frequency of bets.
Entain Updates In-Play Policy to Avoid Similar Violations of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001
As the Australian Communications and Media Authority revealed in its official announcement of the fine, Entain reported to the regulator that the violations of the country’s Interactive Gambling Act 2001 occurred because its parent company had input the incorrect start time for the sports events to the two aforementioned brands’ systems. As a result, the Ladbrokes’ online gambling service for Australians accepted 59 bets, while the Neds’ gambling service for local customers accepted 19 online wagers after the beginning of the event.
All wagers were effectively voided.
As part of the aforementioned infringement notice worth AU$13,320, Entain has also shared with the regulator that it has reviewed and updated its in-play policy in order to make sure that such failures do not occur any more.
Furthermore, the gambling giant revealed that it only became aware of the error when a customer informed it about the issue about three hours after the day’s play had started.
The chair of the Australian Communications and Media Authority noted that the British gambling company is an experienced betting operator, so it was very disappointing to find out that it did not have internal procedures in place to detect the issue or prevent it. Ms O’Loughlin also shared that, in 2022, the ACMA made it clear to the industry that robust systems must be implemented in order for operators to make sure that online in-play bets are not available for Australian customers and the operators do not accept such bets.
- Author
Olivia Cole
