The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has announced the formation of BetStop, a new national voluntary self-exclusion program that will launch on August 21.
According to details reported by Yogonet, the program will allow Australian bettors to self-exclude from all of the country’s 150 iGaming platforms from anywhere from three months to the rest of their lives.
Once the program is launched, operators will be barred from opening accounts, sending marketing materials or accepting bets from anyone on the register. As such, the platforms will also have to begin conducting additional identification verification measures when opening new accounts.
Operators’ websites, marketing materials and apps must also include mention of the register once it takes effect.
The website for the program says that the personal information of those who self-exclude will be protected, and that the service will be offered for free.
Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland confirmed in a statement that the program “is the last of 10 measures to be implemented under the National Consumer Protection Framework for online wagering to empower Australians through stronger consumer protections.”
The issues of responsible gaming and harm minimization have dominated the Australian gaming world for some time, due to several high-profile regulatory violations from the country’s major operators and a parliamentary proposal to ban iGaming advertising during sporting events, among other factors.
An oft-cited study from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showed that Australian bettors lost US$16.7 billion in wagers in 2018-2019, which was the highest average per capita in the world.
The new BetStop program will bring the Australian market in line with several other similar programs already in place in the U.K., France, Italy, Germany and elsewhere.
Tim Costello, a prominent anti-gambling advocate, told the New Daily that he welcomes its arrival, but cautioned that it only represents the first step of a long road still ahead.
“It’s not difficult technology from the consumer protection framework recommendation,” Costello said. “We’ve been waiting and waiting, so I welcome it. There’s been all sorts of excuses: The company that won the tender went into liquidation and the minister announcing it would be starting in July, she already knew the company was in liquidation.”
Advertising and data firm Big Village was awarded the tender for the new register.
With regard to compliance and enforcement, the ACMA announced that operators will face steep penalties if found to be in violation of the new program, some in excess of AU$230,000 per day.
“Since coming to government we’ve been working hard to ensure that we get the last measures completed of the National Consumer Framework,” Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth told the New Daily.
“For BetStop to be the most effective we need to make sure that when someone signs up to online gambling that their identity is actually verified before they can place a bet.”
