ACMA: Entain, Bet365 and Sportsbet Have Violated the In-Play Betting Rules

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced that it has found a number of operators guilty of breaching the country’s rules on gambling. As reported by the authority, the gambling companies in question used “Fast/Quick Codes” to facilitate in-play betting on sports matches.

Violators, according to the ACMA, included Entain’s Ladbrokes and Neds, bet365 and Sportsbet.

The ACMA reminded companies that in-play betting on sports matches is prohibited under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, save for a few limited exceptions such as placing bets over the phone. However, in order for this exception to apply, a customer needs to provide their bet type, amount and confirmation via the phone call.

According to the ACMA, the aforementioned operators violated this rule by instead providing a Fast/Quick code option to customers. The codes in question embed the event, bet selection and bet type. Thanks to this, customers can just quote the Fast/Quick code to operators over the phone.

The ACMA Did Not Impose Further Sanctions

The ACMA explained that Ladbrokes and Neds, bet365 and Sportsbet all violated Australia’s rules on Fast/Quick Codes.

Ladbrokes and Neds (Entain), bet365 (Hillside) and Sportsbet (Sportsbet) in-play betting services were found to individually generate Fast/Quick Codes for each particular in-play bet when that bet was built by a customer via the service’s website or App – at least for the first customer.

ACMA statement

Australia’s communications regulator concluded that this betting information had been communicated via the website or app, rather than entirely via the phone call. As a result, the exception to the prohibition on in-play betting on sports matches did not apply.

In the wake of the investigation, all three operators in question have taken steps to make their Fast/Quick Codes compliant with the local rules. As a result, companies will only be able to generate such codes prior to the beginning of a sporting event, independent of customers selecting bets. These codes will be generic and the same for all customers, the ACMA added.

The ACMA acknowledged the three gambling companies’ quick reaction and decided not to impose sanctions.

Last month, the ACMA learned that the Seven Network Operations has breached the country’s gambling ad regulations. This was not the company’s first violation either, resulting in a penalty of $13,320.