Australian operator Dabble Sports has been fined AU$1,069,200 for systematic breaches of the national self-exclusion register BetStop. Regulator ACMA found that the company failed to close 157 accounts belonging to players registered with the self-exclusion programme and sent 839 electronic messages to 165 self-excluded users. Another 45 customers received 2,000 push notifications that lacked mandatory information about BetStop.
Of 229 inactive accounts with no open bets, 156 remained accessible more than seven days after BetStop registration. Some accounts breached requirements for up to 200 days. ACMA member Carolyn Lidgerwood called the incidents serious, saying operators must respect self-exclusion decisions and maintain reliable safeguards.
Dabble Sports has agreed to a two-year court-enforceable undertaking. The company will conduct an independent audit of its compliance systems and develop a remediation plan approved by its board of directors.
This is the second major penalty in the Australian industry this year. Tabcorp Holdings was earlier fined AU$2.7 million for sending over 217,000 marketing messages to customers who had explicitly opted out.
From January 2027, BetStop will receive additional funding of AU$28.7 million over four years and AU$3.2 million annually thereafter. The funds will go toward improving the data-matching system and marketing support for the register. ACMA will recover operating costs from the industry. The government has pledged to simplify the service interface and strengthen promotion as part of gambling law reform.
