Gambling giant Sportsbet pressured the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) into “watering down” an enforcement announcement, according to new documents released to the ABC.
In 2022, the watchdog found Sportsbet continued to text and email tens of thousands of customers even though they had already tried to unsubscribe from marketing messages, hitting the company with a then-record fine for breaching Australia’s spam laws.
An ABC investigation has revealed Sportsbet pushed the watchdog to change key quotes in a draft media release by chair Nerida O’Loughlin before it was released to the public.
Federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie has questioned the watchdog’s judgement.
“This is shocking at every level,”
he said.
“This exchange shows a very, very cosy relationship and a very unhealthy relationship.”
Andrew Wilkie says the revelations are shocking. (ABC News: Jordan Young)
Gambling Policy Hub’s Lauren Levin, an expert in gambling regulation and consumer protection, said the conduct was unacceptable.
“Sportsbet is totally out of line, and I think that the regulator is also totally out of line,” she said.
“It is quite unbelievable that a chair of a regulator allows her words to be changed.”
Lauren Levin says the matter is “unbelievable”. (ABC News: Patrick Stone)
Those criticisms have been rejected by the ACMA, which maintained the media release was not “diminished in any way.”
The watchdog has been under increasing pressure over a perception it is too close to the companies it regulates.
Concerns over regulator’s dealings with Optus
Revelations that it changed the release date of an enforcement announcement against the Commonwealth Bank also drew the ire of consumer advocates.
The announcement about the bank’s breach of spam laws was shifted so that it did not fall on the same day as the bank’s annual general meeting, denying shareholders the chance to question bank executives about it.
Sportsbet petitioned the ACMA to change quotes
New documents released to the ABC under Freedom of Information Laws to the ABC have revealed the private communications between ACMA and Sportsbet before the major enforcement announcement was made public.
Sportsbet was in its sights after sending more than 150,000 text messages and emails to over 37,000 customers despite them trying to unsubscribe.
The watchdog hit Sportsbet with a then-record fine of $2.5 million for breaching Australia’s spam laws.
In early 2022, the watchdog emailed its draft media release over to Sportsbet which contained these quotes from Ms O’Loughlin.
“It is highly likely that some of these people are vulnerable to gambling-related problems and were trying to address the issue by unsubscribing from Sportsbet’s promotions,” the chair said in the draft press release.
“It is a significant decision for individuals to choose to cease gambling and Sportsbet’s failures in this matter had the real potential to cause financial and emotional harm to these people and their families.”
Changes and redactions can be seen on these documents, released to the ABC under Freedom of Information laws. (ABC News: Patrick Stone)
That sparked a sharp response from Sportsbet.
The gambling company said the first quote should be “tempered/changed as the force, breadth or basis for the statement is questionable”, with similar reasons provided for the second.
Both quotes were changed in the final press release.
In the version that was released to the public it said the ACMA had received complaints from people experiencing gambling-related problems and the company’s failure had the “real potential to contribute to financial and emotional harm”.
Former Supreme Court judge Anthony Whealy said the ACMA should have held its ground against Sportsbet.
“It’s got to stick to its guns and it’s not doing that,” he said.
Mr Whealy, now chair of the Centre for Public Integrity, said the watchdog should only alter quotes if they were incorrect or unsupportable, but that was not the case here.
“The reason Sportsbet didn’t want those sentences in there was because it magnified the harm of what they had done, but it magnified the harm correctly,” he said.
“This is another example of a regulator, because of the cosy relationship it has, wrongly acceding to requests for special treatment.”
Anthony Whealy says the ACMA shouldn’t have such “cosy” relationships with the companies it regulates. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)
Mr Wilkie called on the Albanese government to investigate whether it was a widespread problem.
The ACMA declined to be interviewed.
In a statement, it defended the changes to the draft media release saying they were made “to more accurately reflect the circumstances of the matter”.
It said it only shared draft media releases about enforcement matters to ensure procedural fairness and accuracy.
The watchdog maintained it was holding companies to account and rejected any assertion otherwise.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority says it shares draft media releases about enforcement matters to ensure fairness and accuracy. (ABC News: Clarissa Thorpe)
Sportsbet defended asking for changes to the quotes.
“Sportsbet provided comment on three suggested amendments to correct data and the factual accuracy of statements,” it said.
“The ACMA retained ultimate control of the media release drafting and content.”
“Any decisions related to the media release is a matter for ACMA.”
The company did not answer questions about what evidence it had used to challenge the validity of the quotes from the ACMA’s chair.
Sportsbet said it had made sweeping internal changes since the enforcement announcement, which was overseen by a consultant.
“Sportsbet has conducted an end-to-end review of its consent and marketing frameworks, and has uplifted policies, procedures, training and systems, to ensure compliance with all consent-related legislative and regulatory requirements.”
‘He was on his own’
Ms Levin said she had serious concerns about the gambling giant’s conduct in a case involving a young man with a “severe gambling problem”.
The man’s gambling statement was over 900 pages, one of the longest Ms Levin had seen.
In mid-2020 the man emailed Sportsbet to unsubscribe from their marketing.
But just a few months later he received a personalised email from a Sportsbet employee.
In the email, the man was given the employee’s mobile number, access to a priority betting line, and hospitality tickets to races and the AFL and NRL.
He was also given a “$500 bonus bet” to his account with the possibility of more.
Lauren Levin has concerns about Sportbet’s conduct in the case. (ABC News: Patrick Stone)
The man continued gambling and later suffered significant harm to his finances and mental health which was “very damaging,” Ms Levin said.
She accused Sportsbet of exploiting a legal loophole by contacting him directly despite the man unsubscribing.
She said the company should have shut down his account earlier.
In mid-2023, she was involved in making a complaint to the ACMA about the case questioning, why the man had not received any of the $1.2 million refunded to customers by Sportsbet after the breach of spam laws was identified.
The ACMA said it was unable to intervene and suggested contacting Sportsbet directly.
Ms Levin said the watchdog had failed to help.
“They didn’t actually do anything with his complaint as far as I can see. He was on his own.”
Sportsbet and the ACMA both declined to specifically comment on the case. (ABC News: Patrick Stone)
The ACMA declined to comment on the case, citing privacy concerns.
It said the compensation program to refund customers was managed by Sportsbet and overseen by an independent arbiter.
It added the ACMA “does not have the power to direct Sportsbet to compensate specific customers”.
Sportsbet declined to comment on the man’s case but said it conducted ongoing checks with customers including whether they were gambling within their limits and encouraged safer gambling tools.