PointsBet Australia has been hit with an over AUD $500,000 (£240,450) fine for breaches of spam and gambling self-exclusion laws.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) issued the penalty after discovering that the company sent more than 800 messages that breached Australia’s e-marketing laws. The operator was also found to have breached laws relating to BetStop – the National Self-Exclusion Register (NSER).

According to the ACMA, PointsBet delayed closing the accounts of customers who had registered for the NSER and sent marketing messages to self-excluded persons. In total, 508 messages were sent to self-excluded individuals between August and September 2023.

The AMCA did note, however, that no excluded customers were able to place bets with PointsBet during the investigation period.

Nerida O’Loughlin, Chair of the ACMA, said there were “no excuses” for gambling companies such as PointsBet failing to understand their legal obligations to customers.

She added: “It is deeply concerning that these failures have impacted PointsBet’s 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.

Alongside breaching self-exclusion laws, PointsBet also fell foul of Australia’s laws relating to marketing emails. 

Between September and November 2023, the operator mischaracterised 705 emails as ‘non-commercial’, leading to material containing a direct link to its betting products being sent without an unsubscribe function. As the emails promoted PointsBet’s services, they were subject to spam rules.

In addition, seven marketing emails were sent without recipient consent and 90 commercial texts were sent that did not have sender contact information.

For breaching the spam laws, PointsBet will now have to pay a penalty of AUD $500,800.

The AMCA stated that it was unable to impose a financial penalty on PointsBet for breaches related to the NSER, however, PointsBet has committed to reviewing its compliance with spam and NSER laws, as well as providing regular training to relevant staff.

A failure to comply with the actions, which are court-enforceable undertakings, could lead to court-ordered financial penalties. 

The sanctions against PointsBet come at a time when the operator is considering its future prospects as it prepares for sale. In a statement last week, PointsBet told shareholders that an offer from Australian challenger brand Betr may lead to a ‘superior proposal’ compared to that of the Japanese digital entertainment group MIXI. The firm is now committed to carrying out further due diligence on the bid, worth AUD $360m.

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