ACMA fines Betfair AUS$870,000 for spam law breaches
The operator was fined by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for sending commercial emails and texts to VIP customers who had opted out of receiving them.
Key points:
– Betfair ordered to pay AUS$871,660 (US$567,082) for breaking spam laws
– Operator sent commercial communications to VIP customers who had not consented or withdrawn their consent
– Six messages did not contain an option to unsubscribe
Betfair has paid up AUS$871,660 after falling foul of spam rules in Australia.
The operator had been flagged for sending 148 emails and text messages between March and December 2024 to customers who either had not consented to receiving such communications, or in some cases actively withdrawn their consent.
It has invoked further ire from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for not including options to unsubscribe in six messages to customers sent over that same period.
VIP customers were the target of these unsolicited marketing messages and ACMA member, Samantha Yorke, had little sympathy: “VIP programs are generally designed to attract and retain customers with high betting activity, however this doesn’t mean VIP customers are well off or can afford losses.”
Spam laws in Australia have been in place for more than 20 years and the commercial messages sent by Betfair flouted those rules in order to offer promotional deals such as free tickets to events.
Good to know: The ACMA recently released a collection of data covering Q2 that suggested they had responded to just under 300 enquiries over the three-month period
The ACMA has enforced these rules with a strict approach to compliance – over the past year and a half, it has confiscated AUS16.6m in fines relating to spam law infractions.
In June 2025, Tab was hit with a AUS$4m fine for breaches of a similar kind at a larger scale.
On top of the fine itself, Betfair has entered into a two-year court-enforceable programme to ensure it invests in independent reviews of its marketing campaigns.
The operator will be required to undergo comprehensive staff training, take quarterly internal audits and report the findings back to the ACMA at regular intervals.
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