Australian fantasy sports provider facing record fine

[The Buzz]

PlayUp Interactive, which trades as Draftstars, was caught offering free bets and providing other lures to would-be players in 33 advertisements on its site. The company was fined $586,000 in Sydney’s Downing Centre local court in mid-August after it was found guilty of all 33 related offenses.

It is illegal to offer any inducements to open betting accounts, refer friends to open betting accounts, keep a betting account open or consent to receive gambling advertising in New South Wales.

From The Guardian:

Liquor and Gaming NSW’s director of compliance and enforcement, Dimitri Argeres, said the operator would have been well aware of the laws in place for advertising.

“It is the responsibility of the betting service provider to ensure prohibited gambling advertising is not published or communicated in NSW,” he said on Tuesday.

“Liquor and Gaming NSW will continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to these offences and this sentence shows that strong penalties can apply.”

The record fine comes amid fierce debate over national changes to gambling advertising after a push for federal laws to provide a blanket ban on ads on broadcast TV, streaming services and radio.

Gambling levy proposed to help wean Australian media companies off betting ad addiction
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Fantasy sports betting app Draftstars was acquired by PlayUp in 2018 from CrownBet, a firm later merged into Sportsbet.
The Sydney-based PlayUp also operates in New Zealand, India and the US.

Read more here: https://www.theguardian.com/australi...fine-australia

[Slotsjudge]

Wow, that’s quite a hefty fine! Looks like the authorities are serious about cracking down on those ads.

[AussiePunter]

Wow, make millions from the Aussie market and get fined $586,000. Seems like a prudent business expense.

If they want to stop this type of law-breaking from happening, the fines need to actually deter companies from breaking the law, not just treat the fines as a cost of business. Maybe have criminal penalties as well. It's well known that any kind of inducement is and has been banned in Australia for years. This wasn't a mistake.