The Australian Media and Communications Agency (AMCA) has found that some of the top betting sites in Australia have breached in-play betting rules.
The controllers of Ladbrokes, Neds, bet365, and Sportsbet have all been found guilty of non-compliance with interactive gambling rules.
Phone betting rules breached
All three betting companies use Fast/Quick codes, which should be solely used for phone betting for the entire staking process.
In Australia, gamblers cannot place a bet during an event unless this is conducted and placed via a phone call.
The AMCA found that bettors were using the web-based applications of all of these operators, to place bets and then calling to confirm the in-play wager.
According to the AMCA, this process of in-play betting on sport is “prohibited with limited exceptions, which include placing the bet over the phone. However, for the exception for phone betting to apply, information about the bet selection, bet type, bet amount and confirmation of a bet must be provided by a customer wholly via the phone call.”
These betting companies did not comply with the legislation and have avoided further punishment by the AMCA, but they have been asked to review these services by the regulator.
Following these investigations, there has been a revision of Fast/Quick codes. This has resulted in the Fast/Quick codes will be generated before an event takes place.
Australia tightens gambling laws
Earlier this month the Australian Federal Parliament passed legislation banning the use of credit cards to fund online betting accounts.
In New South Wales (NSW) it has been reported that residents in the region have lost $4.3bn to poker machines. Prompting the NSW government is to expand its cashless gambling trial to include nearly 4500 poker machines across 24 local government areas.
Image Credit: Hugo Heimendinger, Pexels.
