Betfair has had to pay a £424,000 fine in Australia for sending commercial messages to VIP customers without their proper consent.
The breach of the country’s spam laws in the gambling sector was investigated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
It was found that the online casino, poker and sports betting operator had sent out 148 emails and text messages between March and December 2024 to customers who had either not subscribed or actively opted out of the service.
A further six messages sent during that time did not include the option to unsubscribe.
Betfair’s Messages To VIP Customers
The promotional content had been directed at members of a Betfair VIP program with offers that included deposits for accounts and free tickets to events.
ACMA deemed these actions to be non-compliant and irresponsible.
Revealing ACMA’s ruling, Authority Member Samantha Yorke said: “VIP programs are generally designed to attract and retain customers with high betting activity, however this doesn’t mean VIP customers are well off or can afford losses.
“Sending promotional gambling messages to these customers without consent or with no option to opt-out is incredibly irresponsible in addition to being non-compliant.
“The spam laws have been in place for over twenty years, and it is simply unacceptable for businesses not to respect the rights of their customers.”
Alongside paying the fine, Betfair has now entered a two-year court-enforceable undertaking that requires the firm to finance an independent review of its direct marketing operation.
The online gaming and sports betting site operator has been ordered to improve staff training and agree to quarterly audits while also reporting findings regularly to ACMA.
“This is the second recent ACMA enforcement action concerning VIP customers in the gambling sector,” said Yorke.
“Providers are on notice that they need to have their compliance systems in order.”
TAB Previously Fined £2 Million By ACMA
Over the past 18 months ACMA has confiscated just over £8 million in penalties arising from breaches of the country’s spam laws.
In June, Tabcorp Holdings Limited (TAB) was fined around £2 million for breaching spam laws with its promotional content for VIP gambling.
Between February and May, 2025, TAB had sent out 5,700 SMS and WhatsApp messages to VIP member accounts without consent, proper sender identification or unsubscribe links.
ACMA’s investigation revealed that 2,598 messages had been sent without any opt-out facility, 3,148 lacked the required standard of sender identification, and 11 sent without prior consent.
Under Australia’s Spam Act 2003, all marketing communications must be sent with the consent of the user, contain clear sender information and a fully functional, clearly marked unsubscribe option.
Jim Munro is a betting industry and gambling expert who has been a national newspaper journalist for over 30 years, predominantly at The Sunday Times and The Sun, where he wrote a weekly soccer betting column. Jim also worked on the launch of Virgin Bet with Gamesys and was subsequently head of editorial at LiveScore, the sports media and betting group.
