Gambling in Australia: L&GNSW fines TexBet for ignoring customer request to close account

TexBet has been fined AU$33,000 (US$22,819).

Australia.- The New South Wales regulator, Liquor & Gaming NSW (L&GNSW), has reported that online bookmaker O’Shea Bookmaking, trading as TexBet, has been fined AU$33,000 (US$22,819) for sending gambling ads and accepting new bets from a customer who had tried to close their betting account.

O’Shea Bookmaking received a sentence in the Downing Centre Local Court last Wednesday (September 25) due to violations of the Betting and Racing Act 1998 (NSW). According to the L&GNSW statement, this is the first time an online betting agency has been fined in NSW for the offences of direct marketing without consent and failure to close a betting account upon request, which became effective in 2019.

The regulator conducted an investigation following a complaint from a former TexBet customer who revoked their consent to receive gambling ads and requested the closure of their betting account in May 2022. Despite this, TexBet sent the customer four gambling ads via text message and accepted 75 new bets from them after the specified date.

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Jane Lin, the executive director Regulatory Operations at Liquor & Gaming NSW, stated: “By engaging in this behaviour TexBet has broken a law that was put in place to protect vulnerable people who are trying to exclude themselves from gambling.

“These laws were specifically developed to reduce the risk of gambling harm by requiring online betting businesses to make it simple for people experiencing harm to self-exclude and opt not to receive ads about gambling products.

“We know that direct marketing of gambling inducements can cause an increase in betting, betting expenditure and gambling-related harm.

“Not only has TexBet broken the law, but it also placed this individual at greater risk of further gambling harm by sending them ads and accepting their bets after they specifically requested for their account to be closed and not to receive gambling ads.

“Online betting businesses that operate in NSW need to ensure they have robust systems in place to prevent direct advertising to people who have opted out. If they fail to abide by NSW gambling laws they should expect to be caught and prosecuted.”

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