On Wednesday, Palmer Bookmaking Pty Ltd, known as Palmerbet, agreed to an 18-month court-enforceable undertaking with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). This decision follows an investigation that revealed numerous violations regarding the bookmaker's adherence to Australia's national self-exclusion regulations.
The ACMA's inquiry centered on a customer who registered with BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register (NSER), on September 2, 2023. Legally, once a customer is registered, operators are obliged to close any existing accounts "as soon as practicable." Contrary to this requirement, Palmerbet accepted bets from this individual on 18 different occasions between December 2024 and February 2025. The customer's account was not deactivated until February 22, 2025, nearly 18 months after they registered with the NSER.
The investigation identified multiple violations by Palmerbet, including 18 contraventions of section 61KA(3) of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA) for offering wagering services to a self-excluded person—one violation for each day service was provided. Additionally, the ACMA documented 535 breaches of section 61MB(5) for failing to close the customer's account promptly after their registration with the NSER, counting one violation for each day beyond the appropriate closure date.
Another issue raised was Palmerbet's inaccurate use of customer data. The NSER mandates that operators match personal details, such as full legal names, date of birth, and postcode, against the NSER database. Palmerbet repeatedly submitted incorrect information for the customer, including a shortened first name and an incorrect date of birth, resulting in negative matches with the register and allowing betting to continue.
Records show that the bookmaker first submitted the individual's details to the NSER on September 6, 2023, using flawed information. The account was only closed after the NSER returned a positive match on February 22, 2025.
The ACMA concluded that Palmerbet had not taken "reasonable precautions and exercised due diligence" when verifying the customer's identity data. Before the NSER's launch, the ACMA had issued technical specifications requiring operators to provide precise name and date of birth data sourced from Australian government documents for verification. This requirement was reiterated in March 2024.
Although Palmerbet updated its onboarding procedures in mid-2023 to verify date of birth and other details, it failed to apply consistent verification measures to existing accounts, including that of the affected customer. The ACMA noted that if accurate details had been provided in September 2023, the account could have been closed within 24 hours.
As part of the settlement, Palmerbet is expected to refund all deposits made by the self-excluded customer from September 2023 through February 2025. Instead of pursuing court orders or civil penalties, the ACMA considered Palmerbet’s commitment to conduct an independent review of its NSER compliance systems and processes as a resolution.
Palmerbet is not alone in this scrutiny; earlier this month, Dabble Sports also faced penalties for repeatedly failing to comply with BetStop. Carolyn Lidgerwood, an ACMA member, emphasized the necessity of respecting self-exclusion decisions, stating that "providers must respect that decision" and "must have robust systems in place."
In another recent action, the ACMA has requested internet service providers (ISPs) block access to several illegal gambling websites, including Bet Ninja, Riobet188, ThePokies33, Spade69, and WinShark. This initiative is part of a prolonged enforcement campaign. Since November 2019, the ACMA has asked ISPs to restrict access to 1,822 illegal gambling and affiliate sites, with 12 additional sites targeted for blocking in June of this year. More than 230 operators have exited the Australian market since the implementation of stringent enforcement measures began in 2017.
