Measures should affect 1 million in Australia
Australia’s six state governments have agreed to launch a National Consumer Protection Framework in 2019. Queensland was the last state to come aboard after originally insisting it would create its own plan. The 10-point plan was originally undertaken by the federal government in response to the 2015 O’Farrell Review, which looked at the impact of illegal offshore gaming on Australian patrons. It has evolved into a set of safeguards for the larger gaming industry.
“The measures are designed to reduce the harm that can be caused to individuals and their families by excessive or at-risk online wagering,” said Federal Minister for Families and Social Services Paul Fletcher. “The National Framework will apply to about 2.5 million active online wagering accounts, or about a million people in Australia.”
Two measures have already been introduced: in February, operators were banned from taking advertising from payday-loan companies on their websites and also prohibited from referring customers to such lenders.
Within 90 days of the enactment of the federal framework, operators will have to reduce the window in which customers have to verify their identity with bookmakers from three months to 21 days. According to iGamingbusiness.com, the measure is designed to prevent minors from gambling and to keep self-excluding customers from creating new accounts.
Six months after the framework’s introduction, more measures will be enforced, including the close monitoring of customers inducements to gamble such as sign-up bonuses and refer-a-friend schemes. Operators will also be required to make clear how consumers can close their accounts and also make the process as simple as possible. A voluntary pre-commitment plan that lets players set gambling deposit and time limits will also take effect.
A year after the framework is introduced, operators will be required to provide customers with statements detailing their gambling activities. This will be followed by the launch of “consistent responsible-gambling messaging to be carried by all operators, while bookmakers’ staff will be required to complete training to ensure they can interact with customers that may be experiencing difficulties,” the news outlet reported.
In addition, a national self-exclusion program will allow consumers to block themselves from all online betting sites through a single registration process. “If you exclude from one, you exclude from all—this is a first in Australia,” Fletcher said.
Stephen Conroy, executive director of Responsible Wagering Australia, hailed the plan, saying, “These are landmark reforms which solidify Australia’s place as a leader in social responsibility in wagering. We are grateful to Minister Fletcher and his predecessors, Ministers Tehan and Tudge, for leading a thorough and consultative process on this important package of measures.”
It’s no secret that Australians have a big appetite for gambling, both online and at pubs and clubs. In 2017, Aussie punters lost almost AU$24 billion (US$18 billion), according to data compiled by the Queensland state government.
“Gambling in Australia is the equivalent of guns in America,” said Tim Costello, a spokesman for the Alliance for Gambling Reform. “The gambling industry has captured politics really in the way the National Rifle Association does in America, so we aim to reform that.”
Costello estimated that 400 people per year commit suicide, an estimate supported by Australia’s Productivity Commission. Costello blamed devices that are “built for addiction, releasing the dopamine that hits your brain with the force of cocaine.”
