• Four operators, one of which has left Australia, were named by the ACMA in breach of self-exclusion rules
• The companies have sent marketing materials or reinstated a person’s account once they got off the self-exclusion list
• ACMA has issued formal warnings and reminded stakeholders how important it is to comply with NSER rules

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has published a new public statement in which it outlined breaches of self-exclusion rules identified in four licensed operators.

ACMA names companies it found to breach NSER rules

The regulator named the companies that have failed to maintain the mandatory compliance with the National Self-Exclusion Register (NSER) – BetStop – which obligates companies to restrict access to any person who has registered themselves with the service.

As a result, Buddybet, Ultrabet, VicBet, and Topbet were all named as offenders, breaching the rules by either accepting self-excluded individuals to gamble, sending them marketing materials, or, in some instances, both.

The first case outlined by ACMA was that of Buddybet, with the company having already withdrawn from the market in Australia. According to the regulator, Buddybet failed to close the accounts of people on the self-exclusion list while also sending them marketing materials.

Ultrabet was found to have reopened an account of a person at the end of their self-exclusion period and also sent them marketing materials.

This is a direct breach of the self-exclusion rules in the country, which mandate that once a person self-excludes, their account must be shuttered in a reasonable and practical time frame, and any reopening cannot occur independently of a person personally seeking to reopen their account, providing they’re not on BetStop anymore.

Ultrabet was willing to cooperate and launch a review of its compliance practices, ACMA informed in the public statement, pointing to an honest mistake that will now be addressed.

Warnings sent to companies over shortcomings in self-exclusion rules

In the meantime, VicBet and Topbet were both served with a former ACMA warning, according to which, both companies have contravened self-exclusion rules, and both companies sent marketing materials to a self-excluded person.

ACMA member Carolyn Lidgerwood has highlighted the importance of these measures and why they need to be enforced strictly by operators:

"People on the NSER have made a conscious effort to exclude themselves from online gambling services. Sending gambling marketing messages to people who are trying to stop gambling is unacceptable. Betting services must have systems in place that respect the decisions of people to self-exclude, or face further consequences."

BetStop has been largely recognized as a success, with the program enrolling more than 40,000 registrants and continuing to grow.

Although not many people have restarted their participation after the original period lapse, there have been a substantial number of people choosing to exclude themselves for very long periods or even for life.

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