ACMA warns operators for offering illegal in-play betting

Added: December 15, 2023

The ACMA has recently issued a warning to several major betting operators for offering unauthorized in-play wagering opportunities to their players.

Under the gambling laws of Australia, licensed operators are not allowed to offer their players in-play wagering opportunities in the vast majority of cases, excluding only betting over a phone call. However, the ACMA mentioned that the entirety of the betting process must take place over a single call for the in-match bet to be compliant with the country’s regulations.

Recently, the authority warned several major operators, namely Entain, Bet365, and Sportsbet, for offering in-match wagering through special customizable betting codes. The firms used these codes, which were being generated during the matches they covered, to allow their players to select which in-match betting option they would like to wager on through the firms’ websites or mobile applications prior to making a call to place the bet. ACMA stated that through this method, the in-play bet’s information was not communicated wholly through a phone call, making them unable to qualify for the phone wagering exception.

The authority mentioned that since the conclusion of its investigation, all of the operators have adjusted their codes to comply with the country’s regulations, which included generating non-customizable generic codes for various opportunities before the matches they cover start. Due to the operators’ quick response to its investigation, the ACMA has chosen to not take any further actions against the companies.

ACMA