ACMA Fines Entain for Illegal In-Play Bets on Golf Tournament

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has fined Entain after two of its brands, Ladbrokes and Neds, accepted illegal bets on a golf tournament.

According to the ACMA announcement, the Entain-owned brands accepted 78 live or in-play wagers on an LIV golf tournament that took place in Bangkok in October of 2022. All bets were made on the final day of the event with 59 accepted by Ladbrokes and 19 by Neds.

Following its investigation, the ACMA has issued the maximum fine for this infringement of AU$13,320. This is the first time that the ACMA has penalized a gambling operator for breaching the Gambling Act 2001 with regards to in-play betting.

Speaking of the fine and penalty ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said:

“Online in-play betting increases the risk for those people experiencing gambling harm as it provides fast outcomes and allows for higher frequency of bets. Entain is a highly experienced wagering operator and it is disappointing it did not have internal procedures in place to prevent or detect the error.

The ACMA made it clear to the industry last year that they must have robust systems in place to ensure that online in-play bets are not made available or accepted.”

During the investigation, Entain stated that the rules breaches occurred due an incorrect start time for the event logged in their systems. Entain was made aware of the breach when notified by a customer three hours after play had started. The company then voided all in-play bets.

This is the second fine issued to a gambling operator by the ACMA so far in 2023. In February, the regulator fined BetDeluxe for illegal marketing. This brings the total fines for 2023 to more than €56.1 million.

According to industry fines tracker website GamblingIndustryFines.com, gambling industry fines in 2022 came to €251,712,034 / $269,532,490 – a significant increase of 443.9% compared to 2021’s total of €44,753,969 / $48,642,992.

Based in Galway, Ireland, Ciaran has over a decade of experience writing for some of the biggest names in the sports-betting, gambling, poker & casino industries.