Liquor & Gaming NSW has fined online bookmaker O’Shea Bookmaking Pty Ltd, trading as TexBet for failing its responsibility towards a customers who had attempted to close their betting account.

The company was taken to court following an investigation and O’Shea Bookmaking fined AU$33,000 in the Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday 25th September for breaches of the Betting and Racing Act 1998 (NSW).

According to the announcement, the customer had made a complaint to the regulator after TexBet had ignored their request to close their account in May 2022. The customer stated that they had also withdrawn their consent to receive marketing materials.

However, despite the customer’s request, TexBet continued to send them promotional offers and ads via text message. After receiving four messages, the customer made 75 new bets which were accepted by the gambling operator.

Liquor & Gaming NSW Executive Director Regulatory Operations Jane Lin said:

“By engaging in this behaviour TexBet has broken a law that was put in place to protect vulnerable people who are trying to exclude themselves from gambling. These laws were specifically developed to reduce the risk of gambling harm by requiring online betting businesses to make it simple for people experiencing harm to self-exclude and opt not to receive ads about gambling products.

We know that direct marketing of gambling inducements can cause an increase in betting, betting expenditure and gambling-related harm.

Not only has TexBet broken the law, but it also placed this individual at greater risk of further gambling harm by sending them ads and accepting their bets after they specifically requested for their account to be closed and not to receive gambling ads.

Online betting businesses that operate in NSW need to ensure they have robust systems in place to prevent direct advertising to people who have opted out. If they fail to abide by NSW gambling laws they should expect to be caught and prosecuted.”

Australian Gambling Losses Increase

In September, the Grattan Institute published a report of gambling losses in Australia. The report revealed that Australian gamblers have the highest gambling losses per customer in the world with average losses totaling AU$1,635 ($1,105) per year.

According to the latest Australian gambling statistics, this means that gambling losses have increased by 36.25% from AU$1,200 ($811) in 2020.

Support for Gambling Reform Gains Momentum

In August, the Australia Institute introduced a proposal for a 2% levy on gambling revenues as part of its efforts to push for a full ban on gambling advertising. The levy would be used to offset financial losses experienced by media companies due to the advertising restrictions.

This proposal followed an open letter from the Alliance for Gambling Reform, urging the Australian government to ban all forms of gambling advertising. The letter came in response to reports indicating that the government was likely to dismiss a complete ban on gambling ads.

Despite those calls, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese seemed to backtrack on the potential ban on gambling ads saying  “The problem isn’t advertising, the problem is gambling.”

Olivia Richardson

Olivia has worked as an editor and writer for major brands across multiple niches. She now focuses on the iGaming and sports betting industries.