Entain fined for breaching code of practice in Australia
The Northern Territory Racing Commission has fined Entain AU$26,690 for allowing its representatives to promote QR codes to activate a series of bonus cash promotions.
Australia.- UK-based Entain has been fined AU$26,690 (US$19,071) by the Northern Territory Racing Commission (NTRC) for breaching the 2019 Code of Practice for Responsible Service of Online Gambling in the Northern Territories. Entain had allowed its representatives to use businesses cards with QR codes to activate a series of bonus cash promotions by signing up at Entain subsidiary Neds.
The Code of Practice prohibits sportsbooks from giving bonus cash incentives for registering a new account. Entain claimed the QR bonus offer complied with the NT code but the regulator said the QR code was equivalent to a gambling incentive because it encouraged players to register for a Neds account.
It rejected Entain’s claim that representatives were acting voluntarily and pointed out that the offer could be obtained through a business card issued by the company.
In October, the NT gambling regulator fined BetEasy more than AU$50,000 after it allowed a self-excluded gambler to open a new account and lose nearly AU$720,000. In 2019 the gambler was contacted by one of the gambling operator’s affiliates, John Dow, and offered a new account in his wife’s name.
The regulator found that the company had violated two of its licensing conditions and failed to ensure sufficient checks to identify gambling addiction.
