Bet365.com.au hit with $2.75 million fine for ‘free bets’ promo

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Bet365

Bet365CALL it the mother of all payouts.

Aussie online bookmaker bet365.com.au has been smashed with a mammoth $2.75 million fine after it was found by the Federal Court to have made false representations in its free bets offer.

As part of a coordinated sweep of ‘free' representations on websites targeting Australian consumers, the the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took action against Hillside, bet365.com.au's operator.

In September last year, the Federal Court found that the bookie's promotion of a $200 worth of free bets for new customers was misleading and deceptive and involved false representations because there were a number of restrictions and limitations that applied to the offer that were not brought to the customer's attention.

Unfortunately, if the punters who signed up actually wanted the free bet, they had to deposit, then gamble $200 of their own money first.

“In this sense, if the restrictions and limitations had been appropriately brought to consumers' attention, they would have been able to recognise that there was no ‘free' bet, particularly given that they had to risk their own money before making such a bet,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said.

“Customers had to gamble their deposit and bonus three times before being able to withdraw any winnings.

“As an example, a customer who made an initial deposit of $200 and received $200 was then required to gamble $1200 before being able to withdraw any money.

Bet 365 will also be required to send a corrective notice by email to affected customers, in the ruling, brought down by Justice Jonathan Beach.

Justice Beach said there were some 73000 active users of Bet365's services when the breach was detected.

The court found that the conduct was serious, extensive in its duration and affected a large number of Australian consumers.

Further it was found the conduct involved a significant element of recklessness, which occurred in an environment where there was no substantial and rigorous compliance program.

Major media reports a statement issued by Bet365 said the court acknowledged that the issue was linked with an unintentional software error.

“Nevertheless, Bet365 regrets that, as a result of this error, it may not have adequately brought to the attention of customers' terms and conditions associated with the promotion.

“Bet365 has introduced stricter compliance processes and controls, as well as improved staff training to prevent a similar issue arising again.”

Our say

Bet365 might call itself the world's biggest online betting company, but it is not immune to the consumer watch dog.

They have been dealt with severely by the Federal Court, and deservedly so.

But perhaps there are a few other online bookmakers that will be taking a look in their own backyards after this decision.

This is not just a lesson for the bookmakers, but for punters too.

At CupsBetting we ensure that all punters know that all ‘free bet' we require a deposit of some fashion.

There are a lot of fantastic bookmaker deals and specials to take of, but we stress that you always read the fine print to make every bet (and deposit) a winner.

Happy punting.

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