Tabcorp fined for illegal betting advertising

The Australian gaming operator has been fined over illegal betting ads.

Australia.- Betting giant Tabcorp was sentenced in Downing Centre Local Court after being found guilty of three counts for running illegal gambling ads in 2015. The promotion was published in both online and in paper in a newspaper in August 2015.

Liquor & Gaming NSW carried away an investigation that concluded that Tabcorp was guilty of offering consumers bonus bets and other rewards as a way of encouragement for signing up in their platform. The New South Wales law establishes that bookmakers cannot publish the ads as an attempt to influence gamblers to play or open new betting accounts, therefore the operator will have to pay a fine of US$12.596 along with US$76.340 of legal costs. The Magistrate who imposed the charges said that they deserved the maximum penalty since it was clear that they broke the current rules and violated the regulation.

Back in November, the national Advertising Standards Board (ASB) announced the decision of ending the transmission of Tabcorp’s publicity as it boosted the sector by considering “fun” and “sociable” to lie to the family about gambling problems. The advertising also “glamorised” the activities and presented them as a pleasure of a weekend. According to the ASB, the Tabcorp’s promotion infringed the 2.8 of the AANA Wagering Advertising and Marketing Communications Code, which established that gaming advertisements “must not portray, condone or encourage excessive participation in wagering activities.”