The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has fined Entain Pty Ltd. a total of US$8,820 for offering online in-play wagers for a LIV golf tournament late last year to bettors through its Neds and Ladbrokes mobile sports betting brands.
Over the course of the tournament, which took place last October in Bangkok, the two brands were said to have accepted a total of 78 online in-play wagers—Ladbrokes accounted for 59 bets and Neds took in 19.
Per Australian law, in-play bets cannot be offered online; rather, they may only be placed by calling and speaking to an operator directly. The $8,820 fine is the maximum penalty available for this specific violation of the country’s Interactive Gambling Act of 2001.
Entain’s explanation to the ACMA was that it had listed the wrong start time for the tournament into its systems, thus allowing bets to come in after the event had started. The company said it was alerted to the mistake by a customer approximately three hours after the tournament commenced. All bets were voided once the breach was discovered.
ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin told Inside Asian Gaming that it was “disappointing” that the company “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,” she added.
The agency confirmed that Entain has since reviewed and upgraded its compliance systems to prevent further in-play lapses.
