Wagering Advertising Enforcement
Australia has a comprehensive gambling regulatory environment across federal and state and territory levels, however, inconsistency in requirements across jurisdictions undermines its efficacy. From a wagering perspective, there are three common enforcement trends, each of which is consistent with a policy focus on harm minimisation.
The regulator in New South Wales (NSW), Liquor and Gaming NSW has been focused on pursuing wagering operators that publish gambling advertising that it considers breaches state legislation since circa 2012. We expect this focus to continue throughout 2023 and beyond. NSW is widely regarded as having the strongest gambling advertising restrictions and associated penalties in Australia (which include potential director and other corporate officer liability); however, the regulatory approach seems incapable of deterring the targeted behaviour. Several prominent bookmakers have or are facing, court action in NSW for alleged advertising breaches involving gambling inducements. In NSW (and other jurisdictions), it is an offence to publish or communicate any inducement to participate or to participate frequently, in any gambling activity. This includes an inducement to open a betting account.
The maximum penalties that can be applied in NSW for infringements were recently increased to AUD$110,000 for corporations and AUD$11,000 for individuals.
Furthermore, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), in concert with state and territory fair trading regulators, is responsible for enforcing Australia’s consumer protection laws. Since July 2010, there has been legal protection for consumers against unfair contract terms with businesses. This includes where businesses, including wagering operators, use standard form contracts in which there is no opportunity for the consumer to negotiate terms.
In 2021, the Northern Territory Racing Commission (NTRC), which regulates many of Australia’s corporate bookmakers licensed in the Northern Territory, requested all licence holders to review their existing terms and conditions citing concerns regarding the ability for consumers to understand the terms and conditions clearly, fair dispute resolution and power imbalances between the parties.
