The Victoria Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) has fined online bookmaker VicBet AU$130,000 (£66,128/€78,452/US$80,768) for several breaches of care obligations in the Australian state.
VicBet, which is licensed to operate in Victoria, was flagged by the VGCCC over two separate breaches. The operator was issued a fine for each of these cases.
In the first instance, VicBet offered and provided a $1,800 bonus bet to a customer after they asked for their betting account to be closed in September 2022. For this, VicBet was handed a fine of $50,000.
Victoria law prohibits bookmakers from encouraging of offering credits, vouchers, rewards or other benefit to induce a player to keep an account open after they have requested it to be closed.
Secondly, VicBet repeatedly sent gambling material to a customer that had permanently self-excluded from the operator in March 2020. The VGCCC declared this a breach of the Victoria Bookmakers’ Association Code of Conduct on regulations and issued an $80,000 fine.
As per the Code, sending correspondence or promotional material to customers who have self-excluded is an offence in the state.
VicBet was given the opportunity to show cause as to why disciplinary action should not be taken over the two cases. Submissions from its legal representative were considered prior to the VGCCC’s ruling.
Breaches can have “serious consequences” for Victoria players
Commenting on the case, VGCCC CEO Annette Kimmitt said this highlights dangers posed to players when operators breach regulations. This, she added, includes the potential for them to experience gambling-related harm.
“Breaches can have serious consequences,” Kimmitt said. “This is not only in terms of punitive actions against the companies we catch out, but for people whose lives are affected by this behaviour.
“It is an egregious betrayal of trust, for example, to continue to send marketing materials to a person who has self-excluded from a gambling venue or closed a betting account.”
Hitting out at VicBet, Kimmitt criticised the operator for failing to adhere to both its legal and social licences. By doing so, this left it customers at increased risk of harm.
“Industry must respect the wishes of people who decide to have a break from, or quit, gambling,” Kimmitt said. “This means taking all reasonable steps to enforce harm prevention initiatives that customers commit themselves to, such as self-exclusion programmes.”
Self-exclusion focus in Victoria
VicBet is the latest operator to face financial penalties over failures related to self-exclusion in Victoria.
Last October, the VGCCC fined Crown Resorts AU$2 million for allowing self-excluded players to gamble. This was also deemed a breach of rules in the state, though much wider than the issues identified with VicBet.
Some 242 self-excluded people were able to place bets at Crown Melbourne casino on hundreds of separate occasions. Additionally, 427 self-excluded persons gained access to Crown in 750 instances.
The players in question gambled at Crown Melbourne over an eight-month period between October 2023 and May 2024. In total, players gambled a total of 451 times, with the length of visits ranging from one hour to 10 hours.
