ACMA to Set Up New Self-Exclusion National Gambling Program

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has been doubling down on regulating gambling over the past couple of years. The watchdog managed to ban hundreds of illegal operators who offered gambling products to Australians without a license and its determination motivated many others to simply give up on the idea of continuing to operate in the country altogether.

New Self-Exclusion Program to Help Consumers

This is part of the broader measures announced by the regulator as it seeks to set out rules of compliance for 2022-2023. The regulator is now stepping up its efforts to help those who are impacted adversely by their gambling or the experience in general.

As a result, ACMA is introducing a new National Self-Exclusion Register to help people at risk opt-out of their gambling practices. While the self-exclusion is still in its initial stages, ACMA is confident that it can deliver better overall protection for consumers in the country.

ACMA reminded us that gambling can have a severe and lasting impact on people’s lives and therefore safeguards are necessary. ACMA is also focusing on a broader range of hardships and issues, including protecting consumers who are facing financial challenges.

The regulator is venturing outside of the gambling space to protect consumers across a number of areas. For example, the regulator wants to change current rules on service subscriptions. ACMA is responding to this by stepping up its efforts to ensure that all users who opt-out of subscriptions and other services are actually subscribed.

ACMA Addresses Other Consumer-Related Issues

ACMA found out that six out of ten Australians weren’t unsubscribed even though they had requested this. SMS and identity theft phone scams are also proliferating, the watchdog argued. Some of the worst cases are SIM swap requests. None of these other issues were tied to gambling by ACMA, but the regulator remains ever-vigilant in ensuring that Australian consumers are protected.