{"id":777026522,"date":"2025-05-16T10:34:42","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T13:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777026522"},"modified":"2026-04-21T22:53:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T01:53:40","slug":"acma-fines-pointsbet-for-breaching-email-marketing-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/acma-fines-pointsbet-for-breaching-email-marketing-rules","title":{"rendered":"ACMA fines PointsBet for breaching email marketing rules"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>PointsBet has been fined over AU$500,800 for a series of breaches of e-marketing and gambling self-exclusion laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>Australia.- The\u00a0<strong>Australian Communications and Media Authority (<\/strong>ACMA<strong>)\u00a0<\/strong>has fined <strong>PointsBet<\/strong> AU$500,800 (US$320,512) over a series of promotional emails.\u00a0The regulator said its investigation detected emails that breached anti-spam rules as well as violations of self-exclusion rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ACMA said that between September and November 2023, the company sent <strong>705 emails<\/strong> without an\u00a0<strong>unsubscribe function<\/strong>. PointsBet wrongly classified the emails as &#8220;non-commercial&#8221; although they promoted gambling services and fell under spam rules. It also sent <strong>seven marketing emails<\/strong> without the recipients&#8217; consent and <strong>90 commercial texts<\/strong> without clear sender contact information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Between August and September 2023, the online gambling provider broke rules related to <a href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/acma-releases-january-march-report-on-interactive-gambling-actions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BetStop<\/a>, the National Self-Exclusion Register (NSER), by delaying the closure of customer accounts and sending<strong> 508 marketing messages<\/strong> to self-excluded people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ACMA chair\u00a0<strong>Nerida O&#8217;Loughlin<\/strong> said: &#8220;It is deeply concerning that these failures have impacted PointsBet\u2019s customers, some of whom had taken proactive steps to exclude themselves from online wagering. People signing up to the NSER are taking positive steps to remove online gambling from their lives. Their decision must not be compromised by companies like PointsBet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Wagering providers must also appropriately identify where messages promote or advertise their services and ensure that those messages comply with the rules, including the obligation to promote the NSER.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/05\/Nerida-OLoughlin-900x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-777026526\" srcset=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/05\/Nerida-OLoughlin-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/05\/Nerida-OLoughlin-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/05\/Nerida-OLoughlin-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/05\/Nerida-OLoughlin.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">ACMA chair&nbsp;Nerida O&#8217;Loughlin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The ACMA found that no excluded customers were able to place bets with PointsBet during the period in question. The regulator accepted a commitment from the company to review its compliance with spam and NSER laws, make any necessary improvements and provide regular training to staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>O\u2019Loughlin added: &#8220;This action should serve as a warning to all wagering providers that they must meet their legal obligations or face the consequences. We will closely monitor PointsBet\u2019s compliance with its undertakings and with the spam and NSER laws.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PointsBet has been fined over AU$500,800 for a series of breaches of e-marketing and gambling self-exclusion laws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":777025411,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"PointsBet has incurred an AU$500,800 fine from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for significant breaches of e-marketing and national self-exclusion regulations. The violations include sending promotional emails without unsubscribe options or consent, commercial texts lacking sender details, and critically, marketing to and delaying account closures for individuals registered on the BetStop National Self-Exclusion Register. This enforcement action underscores ACMA's commitment to upholding consumer protection and regulatory compliance within the Australian iGaming sector.","focusai_entities":"PointsBet, Australian Communications and Media Authority, ACMA, Nerida O\u2019Loughlin","focusai_location":"Australia","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (0.9), affiliate_publisher (0.7), product_ux (0.7), tech_data (0.8), marketing_crm (1.0), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Compliance Framework Review","query":"What specific enhancements to PointsBet's internal compliance frameworks and technological infrastructure are mandated to prevent recurrence of these e-marketing and self-exclusion breaches?"},{"label":"Market Impact Assessment","query":"How might this significant regulatory fine and public commitment to compliance impact PointsBet's market share, brand perception, and operational costs in the highly competitive Australian wagering landscape?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,154],"tags":[289,24459,24373],"class_list":["post-777026522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-legislation-news","tag-australia","tag-australian-communications-and-media-authority","tag-betstop"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777026522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777026522"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777026522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777026546,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777026522\/revisions\/777026546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777025411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777026522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777026522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777026522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}