The ACMA has issued a formal warning to Best Bookies’ Price Pty Ltd for operating an unlicensed online wagering service.
The Best Bookies service allowed customers to compare betting odds across licensed wagering operators and placed bets with those operators on their behalf. These activities were found by the ACMA to have met the definition of a ‘gambling service’ in the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA).
While Best Bookies had obtained authorisations from the relevant state-based regulator, it did not hold the required wagering licence to provide interactive gambling services under the IGA.
Therefore, the ACMA found that the Best Bookies service was provided in contravention of the IGA as it was an unlicensed regulated interactive gambling service provided to Australian-based customers.
Licensing arrangements facilitate the provision of key consumer protections under both the relevant State and Territory laws and the IGA.
The ACMA strongly encourages people who wish to bet online to do so with a licensed wagering operator, so they can benefit from the consumer protection regime. A list of licensed wagering operators can be found at Check if a gambling operator is legal.
The ACMA also encourages licensed wagering operators to carefully scrutinise any arrangements they have or wish to put in place to use third-party provider services to assure themselves that using those services will not compromise their ability to meet their legal obligations, including those set out in the IGA.
Best Bookies’ Price Pty Ltd has now ceased providing this service.
Information about the ACMA’s investigation can be found at Investigations into online gambling providers.
