Australia’s largest online bookmaker texted customers offering a guaranteed share of $1m in bonus bets if they gambled on the morning of the AFL grand final.
The messages were among a series texted to a Victorian man’s phone by Sportsbet during the AFL finals series in an apparent attempt to entice him to gamble more.
More than two years ago a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy recommended all online gambling inducements be banned “without delay”, citing evidence of harm to customers. The federal government is yet to formally respond to the report.
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The offer of “a guaranteed share of $1m in bonus bets” was only provided if the man copied one of Sportsbet’s suggested same-game multi bets. These allow gambling on a combination of outcomes during a game, and all must succeed for the bet to be paid out.
Analysis has shown that multi-bets have a high fail rate for gamblers and leaked documents have shown the AFL receives a higher percentage of each bet placed on these products.
In early September the man, who declined to be named, was offered an “exclusive deposit match” offer. If he bet up to $50, Sportsbet would increase his stake by up to 400% with $200 in bonus bets.
He was subsequently sent four text messages over two days saying “TIME IS RUNNING OUT (…) your deposit match expires soon. Don’t miss out!”.
Weeks later, after the offer had expired, Sportsbet sent him a more generous offer in a text message saying “EXCLUSIVE 600% DEPOSIT MATCH” with up to $300 in bonus bets.
On the morning of the AFL grand final, the man was sent another text saying “TIME IS RUNNING OUT!”. Within 90 minutes, he received another text saying “copy any AFL GF SGM [grand final same-game multi] from the Feed and get guaranteed share of $1m in bonus bets”.
The Feed is Sportsbet’s online portal that includes suggested bets from former players associated with the bookmaker.
Shortly before the season began, Sportsbet pulled ads for same-game multis from free-to-air television after listening to “strong community sentiment”. But ads for the product were splashed on the AFL’s official website a few months later.
The independent MP Kate Chaney, who was a member of the parliamentary inquiry, criticised the use of inducements on grand final day.
“Inducements encourage higher bets and more risk taking,” Chaney said. “The evidence shows a clear link between inducements and increased gambling harm, which is why our inquiry recommended an immediate ban.”
The independent senator, David Pocock, said inducements including these text messages were “designed to encourage risky behaviours and research shows it’s working”.
“Researchers from the ANU this week showed levels of risky gambling are reaching levels never seen before,” Pocock said. “The Murphy review recommended we put a ban on inducements, but to date the Albanese government has still not even responded to any of its 31 recommendations.”
A Sportsbet spokesperson said the company “takes seriously its responsibility to be a leader in safer gambling culture and technology”.
“Our customer communications include safer gambling messages and are in line with all legal and regulatory requirements. These communications also come with the option to easily opt out of receiving further communications.”
The Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission, which licenses and regulates Sportsbet, declined to comment on the series of text messages because the person who received them had not formally written to the commission .
The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) said it needed more information to determine whether the text messages could be a breach of state regulations.
“The VGCCC is generally concerned with the marketing of inducements because they are associated with an increased risk of gambling harm by leading to increases in expenditure and riskier betting, distracting people from harm minimisation messaging, engaging or re-engaging people in gambling when they would otherwise not be participating.”
The Alliance for Gambling Reform has launched a campaign calling for wagering ads to be banned before next year’s grand finals.
Before the AFL grand final, the alliance’s chief executive, Martin Thomas, said children would see “more gambling ads than goals” over the weekend. “That’s not sport, that’s grooming the next generation of punters.”
The campaign has been supported by the former Western Bulldogs premiership player Tom Boyd, who said he was worried about the impact of gambling ads on young Australians.
• In Australia, Gambling Help Online is available on 1800 858 858. The National Debt Helpline is at 1800 007 007.
