News Corp-backed sports wagering company Betr was fined more than $75,000 for “serious” breaches of the responsible gambling code just days before its official launch in October last year.
The company has also been accused of not taking responsibility for breaching the code, designed to minimise gambling harm, and criticised for arguing regulatory action wasn’t required.
The Northern Territory Racing Commission (NTRC) – which licenses and regulates Betr along with most online gambling companies – said it was “very disappointed” with the company’s conduct arguing it did not “reflect well on a licensee”. It has warned further breaches of the code could lead to its licence being suspended.
According to the NTRC, Betr sent unsolicited and targeted messages to a man listed on a self-exclusion register, which is supposed to ban him from betting and receiving gambling adverts. Messages were also sent to four people who were current or former customers of another gambling company, which lodged a complaint.
The targeted messages, which were sent shortly after Betr was granted a gambling licence on 5 October but before it began accepting wagers on 12 October, started by introducing the company “backed by News Corp and [gambling entrepreneur] Matt Tripp”.
“I was reaching out to see if you like a punt and would be interested in trying us when we launch?,” one message published by the NTRC said.
“I am one of the relationship managers and personally manage key accounts. I’ll send over a link on the day we launch, which you can use to signup if you want to try us and have a punt with me. If you do sign-up, please send back your username so I can ensure you are tracked to me.”
Betr has been contacted for comment.
According to the NTRC, a list of self-excluded people was sent to the company on 5 October. The Betr relationship manager and a company affiliate who sent the messages did not have the list.
Betr argued the communication was not a breach of the code and disputed whether it could be considered direct marketing, as the recipients were already known to them. Those arguments were dismissed by the regulator.
“The commission has previously held that licensees should accept responsibility for the activities of their affiliates, and that an unwillingness to do so does not reflect well on a licensee,” said a judgment signed by NTRC chairperson, Alastair Shield.
The judgment noted that while Betr was a new company, its chief executive and head of legal and regulator affairs had many years of industry experience and had held similar positions with other online bookmakers.
“The commission is therefore very disappointed that, under their leadership, affiliates and employees were permitted to contact any persons in breach of the requirements of the code,” the judgment said.
According to the judgment, Betr has written to staff and affiliates to remind them of their obligations. It told the NTRC that no further communication was sent to those who had complained.
Betr is lead by Tripp, who helped establish Sportsbet and BetEast in Australia and Andrew Menz, a former BetEasy executive. It is owned by News Corp, which has a 33% share in the business, along with US-based Tekkorp Capital and Australian company BetMakers Technology Group.
Shortly after launching, Betr offered punters 100/1 odds on every horse in the Melbourne Cup to attract new customers, provided they spent less than $10. Earlier this week, the boss of Tabcorp, Adam Rytenskild, criticised Betr’s “highly distortionary promotional offers”.
In December, Betr was reportedly in talks to buy PointsBet’s local business for up to $250m, which would expand its gambling operations.
