TexBet fined A $33,000 for Betting and Racing Act breaches
Date: 2024-10-01 Author: Robert Beloved Categories: SPORTS BETTING
O’Shea Bookmaking Pty, trading as TexBet, has been fined A$33,000 (US$22,791) for breaches of the Betting and Racing Act 1998. The penalty was handed down on Wednesday, September 25, in Downing Local Court and was a result of the operator accepting new bets and sending advertising to a customer who wanted to close their account.
The incident occurred around May 2022, when a customer complained about receiving gambling advertising and that he had placed 75 new bets which were accepted by TexBet despite his request to close his account and not receiving advertising. This case has been investigated by Liquor & Gaming NSW.
According to Liquor & Gaming NSW Executive Director of Regulatory Operations Jane Lean, TexBet had breached the law, which was put in place to protect vulnerable people trying to exclude themselves from gambling. "So not only did TexBet break the law, they also put this individual at risk of further gambling harm by sending him advertising and accepting bets after he had specifically requested to close his account and opt out of receiving advertising," she added.
She also noted that online gaming companies operating in NSW must have robust systems in place to prevent direct advertising to people who have opted out. "If they fail to comply with NSW gambling laws, they should expect to be caught and prosecuted."
In addition, Liquor & Gaming NSW has launched a new compliance operation to check that licensed operators are complying with the new Safe Gambling measures. These measures, including the introduction of Responsible Gaming Officers (RGOs), came into force across NSW pubs and clubs in July.
In other Australian compliance news, Star Entertainment has confirmed that it has responded to a show cause notice from the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC). The notice was issued to the operator in mid-September and related to breaches of the second Bell report, which highlighted deficiencies in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing. These ongoing allegations could also contribute to the operator’s decline in net profits, which fell 71% in the 2024 financial year.
