Australian courts have made a clear statement to operators posting illegal gambling advertising materials, with Merlehan Bookmaking Pty Ltd, which is trading as TopSport, facing an AU$60,000 fine for publishing illegal gambling adverts. The monetary penalty has been imposed on the Australian-owned gambling company following an investigation held by the gambling regulatory body of New South Wales – Liquor & Gaming NSW.
As explained by Marcel Savary, the Compliance Director of the state’s gambling watchdog, publishing a gambling advert that offers various enthad not been previously convictedicements to lure customers into gambling or participating more frequently in the operators’ services is an offence under the provisions of the Betting and Racing Act of 1998.
Furthermore, Mr Savary explained that last week, TopSport confessed to three offences of publishing illegal gambling adverts in court. As a result, the gambling company was imposed an AU$20,000 fine per offence, or AU$60,000 in total. Apart from that, the court also ordered TopSport to cover the legal costs for the Liquor & Gaming NSW. The maximum monetary penalty for violations of Section 33H(1) of the Betting and Racing Act of 1998 amounts to AU$110,000.
Mr Savary noted that when making a decision on the financial penalties imposed on TopSport, the court has taken into account the fact that the gambling operator for the same type of gambling laws violation.
Three Monetary Penalties Imposed for Gambling Laws Violations in August and September 2020
The gambling regulatory body of the state of New South Wales, the Liquor & Gaming NSW, shared that it will continue to monitor whether operators, which offer gambling and betting services, comply with both federal and state gambling laws and take strong action to regulate the sector and prevent similar offences from occurring.
As officially revealed by the gambling regulator’s Compliance Director, two of the gambling laws violations that brought monetary penalties to TopSport were associated with posts on the gambling operator’s platform. The publications have been promoting the availability of the so-called “Top Up” feature that is currently considered a type of enhanced odds.
The last violation that led to an AU$20,000 fine is associated with the advertising of a tipping competition available on a weekly basis on the Sporting Base online gambling site where Top Sport’s bonus bets have been offered as a special prize to the customers with the biggest tips.
Reportedly, the violations of the Betting and Racing Act 1998 happened in August and September last year.
Following the announcement of the three monetary fines imposed by the court, Mr Savary from the Liquor & Gaming NSW shared that everyone is expected to comply with the laws.
He further noted that so-called tipping competitions and enhanced odds linked to betting accounts are considered to be able to attract people into gambling, by luring them to create a betting account. According to reports, such inducements even manage to attract people who otherwise may stay away from gambling, not to mention then may make customers place bets more frequently than they normally do.
- Author
Olivia Cole
