Unibet fined for breach of Australian advertising law
Kindred Group brand posted three illegal ads which were deemed to induce customers to play
Unibet was deemed to have broken gambling advertisement regulation in Australia and has been handed a A$48,000 (£26k) penalty as a result. The Kindred Group flagship brand, which is managed in Australia by its BetChoice subsidiary, was found guilty of posting three illegal adverts by Liquor & Gaming NSW. The adverts broke legislation under the Betting and Racing Act 1998, which states it is an offence to publish marketing material that offers “any inducement to participate, or participate frequently, in any gambling activity”. The offence relates to three posts on the Unibet website and Apple App Store in November 2020 regarding the availability of the Uniboost, Uplift and Reboost products, which are considered a form of special or enhanced odds. Unibet was fined A$16,000 per offence and ordered to pay A$3,900 in legal costs. Unibet was reprimanded for a similar offence in 2019 to the tune of A$15,000. NSW Liquor and Gaming compliance director Darren Duke said: “Special or enhanced odds have the ability to induce people to open a betting account when they otherwise may be refraining from gambling and they may encourage people to gamble more frequently. “The advertisements were designed to entice people to engage with gambling products and are a breach of the legislation,” he added. Unibet has the right to appeal the ruling.