The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has imposed a fine of $500,800 on PointsBet Australia Pty Ltd for breaching the e-marketing and gambling self-exclusion laws.

Investigations by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found that the company sent more than 800 messages that breached Australia’s spam laws.

PointsBet also contravened laws relating to BetStop – the National Self-Exclusion Register (NSER), by delaying closing accounts of customers who had registered and sending marketing messages to self-excluded persons.

Between September and November 2023, PointsBet sent 705 emails containing a direct link to its betting products without including an unsubscribe function.

The emails were mischaracterised by PointsBet as “non-commercial” despite promoting their services, making them subject to the spam rules.

PointsBet also sent seven marketing emails without recipient consent and 90 commercial texts that did not have sender contact information.

The NSER investigation found PointsBet sent 508 marketing messages to self-excluded individuals in August and September 2023. Under the NSER laws, people registered with the NSER must not be sent marketing materials from a licensed wagering service.

ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said there are no excuses for gambling companies that fail to understand their legal obligations given the risks to people experiencing gambling harms.

“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,“ Ms O’Loughlin said.

“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.

“Wagering providers must also appropriately identify where messages promote or advertise their services and ensure that those messages comply with the rules, including the obligation to promote the NSER.”

The ACMA found that no excluded customers were able to place bets with PointsBet during the period investigated. The ACMA has accepted comprehensive court-enforceable undertakings from PointsBet committing it to reviews into its compliance with spam and NSER laws, actioning any recommended improvements and providing regular training for all relevant staff.

“This action should serve as a warning to all wagering providers that they must meet their legal obligations or face the consequences. We will closely monitor PointsBet’s compliance with its undertakings and with the spam and NSER laws,” Ms O’Loughlin said.

The imposition of a financial penalty was not available to the ACMA for the NSER breaches due to the complex and novel matters investigated. However, a failure to comply with an enforceable undertaking can lead to court-ordered financial penalties.

Compliance with interactive gambling safeguards and misleading spam messages are both current compliance priorities for the ACMA. This is the first enforceable action announced under the NSER rules, and businesses have paid more than $14 million in spam penalties over the last 18 months.

Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) has expressed serious concern over the Northern Territory Government’s decision to double the annual bookmaker and betting exchange tax cap on licensed online Wagering Service Providers (WSPs), warning that the move is economically reckless and risks undermining the Territory’s reputation as a stable and competitive licensing jurisdiction.

The doubling of the cap, announced in the Northern Territory Budget, comes without any industry consultation and, perplexingly, before the final report of the Northern Territory Government’s own Racing Industry Review – a review explicitly commissioned to inform long-term sustainability settings for the wagering and racing sectors.

Responsible Wagering Australia CEO Kai Cantwell said the decision had blindsided the industry and would put investment from WSPs – who are some of the NT’s biggest employers – at risk.

“RWA have participated meaningfully in the review and eagerly anticipated a new strategic vision for racing in the Territory. This decision, made before the Review has had a chance to lay that strategic vision, has blindsided WSPs and materially undermines any outcome of the Review,” Mr Cantwell said.

“RWA members have proudly supported the Territory for years, investing in people, infrastructure, and long-term economic growth.

“We will continue to advocate for a licensing environment in the Northern Territory that upholds the highest standards of consumer protection while also incentivising business to invest in the local economy.

“RWA members are all licensed in the Northern Territory, directly employing around 600 Territorians in high-skilled roles across technology, customer service, and compliance – a figure that rises to over 1,000 when including all wagering service providers licensed in the Territory.”

In FY23 alone, the Australian licensed online wagering industry contributed more than $150 million to the Northern Territory economy, including:

• $47.7 million in taxes and levies

• $2.5 million in product fees to the NT racing industry – directly supporting prize money, operations and promotional activities

• $46 million in wages paid to local staff

“The NT Government was elected on a platform of driving economic growth, delivering a competitive tax and investment environment and attracting private investment, with Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro stating the Territory is ‘open for business’ and passing legislation to ‘strengthen our ability to deliver economic growth and attract investment’ – yet this policy decision directly contradicts that commitment and risks undermining investor confidence in the Territory,” Mr Cantwell said.

RWA questioned the timing of the announcement, noting that it comes before the outcomes of the Government’s ongoing Racing Industry Review have been released.

“This tax hike preempts the outcome of the Review, a process that was meant to guide long-term, evidence-based and sensible reform,” Mr Cantwell said.

“It sends a message that consultation, process and industry sustainability have taken a back seat to short-term revenue grabs.

“A financially sustainable and well-regulated racing and wagering industry is critical to ensuring its long-term viability and the significant economic and employment benefits it delivers to Territorians.

“Rather than imposing blunt tax increases, the Government should be working with industry to identify growth opportunities that will ensure the Territory’s continued leadership as a licensing jurisdiction.

“We are calling on the Treasurer and Chief Minister to reconsider this decision and to engage in genuine consultation with the industry before moving forward.”

AUSTRAC has announced that it will expand its intelligence partnership, Fintel Alliance.

Fintel Alliance is a world leading public-private partnership where members and law enforcement work together and share data in real time to target serious crime.

AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said the Intelligence Division’s Fintel Alliance has been so productive that the agency will now make its collaborative data analytics hub a central function going forward.

“Together, we are able to do much more than any of us could do alone. Fintel Alliance members are working in partnership to fight financial crime – pooling data, sharing insights, and targeting major threats to strengthen financial systems and law enforcement action,” Mr Thomas said.

“This has generated real intelligence across a range of serious crimes including money laundering, child sexual exploitation, domestic violence, tax evasion, fraud and illegal phoenixing.

“For example, late last year we worked with our partners using the collaborative data analytics hub. We obtained all cash deposit transaction data under $10,000 from the four largest banks and jointly looked for criminal patterns. We had more than 50 million data points.

“Using the combined datasets, new software, and with our analysts and bank analysts working together in the same room, we were able to see things that were not visible before. In just a few days we identified major criminal networks now subject to law enforcement action. This shows the power of intelligence partnerships and collective effort.”

Fintel Alliance, first established in 2017, connects experts from major banks, remittance service providers and gambling operators, with law enforcement and security agencies in Australia and overseas.

AUSTRAC is building out the collaborative data analytics hub, a platform for data sharing which has helped identify criminal patterns and trends across the financial sector

This expansion also includes increasing its capacity with additional staff so that Fintel Alliance can contribute to more intelligence innovations and lay the groundwork for partnerships with tranche 2 entities. As part of the expansion, a seconded senior manager from ANZ Bank will help co-lead and build new pairings with industry and government members.

Last year Fintel Alliance produced a threat alert on money muling behaviour and identified an increase in micro-laundering, a process where funds are co-mingled with legitimate and illicit sources and moved at volume through low-value digital transfers.

Fintel Alliance also recently launched a campaign on “scambling”, a practice where unlicensed online gambling platforms advertise on social media and trick people to visit a scam website to participate in gambling.

Regional and remote Aboriginal communities are being targeted in this scam and Fintel Alliance is working with police, banks and other industry partners to raise awareness of “scambling”, to minimise harm to vulnerable Australians.

Fintel Alliance member and NAB Chief Financial Crime Risk Officer, Paul Jevtovic, said practical warnings for customers targeted by criminals is just one of many constructive outcomes achieved through Fintel collaboration.

“The nature of scambling – frequent small transactions – means it isn’t traditionally captured by mandatory reporting,” Mr Jevtovic said.

“However, combining data from multiple sources about cash transactions less than $10,000 allowed Fintel Alliance to more rapidly understand the nature and extent of criminality resulting in timely dissemination amongst members.

“I’ve seen this partnership and capability evolve since 2017 and its expansion is a modern approach not only to intelligence gathering, but more responsive regulation.”

Fintel Alliance Executive Board co-chair and ANZ Group Head of Financial Crime Risk, Cassandra Hewett, said ANZ is proud to have been actively involved in Fintel Alliance since its inception.

“The breadth of industry involvement reflects the value the financial industry sees from the public-private partnership,” Ms Hewett said.

“All members of Fintel Alliance continue to prioritise fighting financial crime and have strengthened our contribution to the collective effort – to prevent our businesses being infiltrated by organised crime, to protect our customers from being exploited, and to drive crime out of our communities.

“Criminals are adept at finding the weak points. By working together to develop and use new tools, technologies and fresh approaches to combat crime we can strengthen the ecosystem we all operate in.

“The collaborative data analytics hub allows Fintel Alliance members to connect our data in ways that weren’t previously possible, providing real time responses to criminal behaviour on already more than one occasion. We are excited to continue to develop these tools and drive real time responses, together.”

Fintel Alliance Executive Board co-chair and AUSTRAC Deputy CEO Intelligence John Moss, said Fintel Alliance expansion is key to AUSTRAC’s ability to disrupt criminal activity above and beyond the existing intelligence efforts and regulatory reach.

“Building even stronger partnerships is going to extend our ability to weed out criminal abuse of the financial system and hit organised crime where it hurts,” Dr Moss said.

“As AUSTRAC prepares to welcome tranche 2 industries to our regulated population, the expansion will no doubt continue to play an even bigger part in disrupting criminal activity.”