Sports-betting companies will be prohibited from directly marketing online services to customers unless they opt in and will no longer be allowed to hand out "free bets" that require punters to continue gambling with the winnings, under Australia-first laws to be rolled out in Victoria.
The operators will also be prohibited from providing so-called "free bets" to customers on the condition that the winnings cannot be withdrawn and must be used to continue betting.Other measures include a ban on direct marketing promotions such as via text messaging unless customers opt in to receive them, and new rules requiring operators to provide "easy-to-use tools" for punters to set their own gambling limits or close their accounts.
The new online gambling standards come into force on Sunday. No timeframe has yet been set for when they will be introduced in other Australian states and territories. Although Australians lose less money betting on sport and racing than they do on poker machines or casino games , online wagering has become the fastest-growing form of gambling nationally, surging in popularity by more than 15 per cent a year.
Through their industry group, Responsible Wagering Australia, they have collaborated with governments to develop online gaming reforms including the incoming measures in Victoria and a soon-to-be-established "national self-exclusion scheme" for people trying to quit gambling. ASX-listed Tabcorp, Australia's biggest gaming company, which runs retail and online betting, said it strongly supported the new rules that would bring about a "more balanced and responsible way in which betting is promoted and offered".
Victoria is living up to its reputation of being Australia's most progressive 'Nanny State!'.
agerealfooty Boooooo! Ban free spins on the pokies.
agerealfooty Get rid of the pokies
sport crackdown
About time!!😤
All gambling advertising and promotion should be banned the same way cigarette advertising was banned. Love the game not the odds
How about banning it from TV? Like tobacco and alcohol
Nanny state crap. DanielAndrewsMP
Gambling wrecks personal lives and families.
Too little, Too late
But pokies bring in so much money so lets leave that alone. Double standards