Australia set to launch national gambling self-exclusion register
10th July 2023 9:51 am GMT
Australia’s first national self-exclusion register for online gambling will launch next month, fulfilling one of the remaining recommendations of the National Consumer Protection Framework for Online Wagering.
The national self-exclusion register, BetStop, will launch on August 21 and will be administered by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
It will allow gamblers in the country to self-exclude from all internet and telephone gambling services for periods ranging from three months to lifetime exclusion, during which time the country’s 150 licensed wagering operators will be prohibited from accepting bets or sending marketing material to them.
“The launch of Australia’s first National Self-Exclusion Register, BetStop, is a game changer, and will make it easy for vulnerable consumers to self-exclude from online wagering services,” said Michelle Rowland MP, minister for communications.
“BetStop is the last of 10 measures to be implemented under the National Consumer Protection Framework for online wagering, to empower Australians through stronger consumer protections.”
Alongside the new national register, the government will also implement mandatory customer pre-verification for interactive wagering by September of this year.
“BetStop is another tool in the tool kit for Australian wagerers to gamble responsibly – which is a priority for the industry, our members and the Government,” said Kai Cantwell, chief executive of industry body Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA).
“RWA members have been at the forefront of introducing world leading consumer protection tools including mandatory age and identity verification, binding deposit limits, time out tools and activity statements and are constantly strengthening these measures.”
On the subject of mandatory customer pre-verification, Cantwell said that “already, RWA members instantly verify more than 90 per cent of customer’s identities and ages, so this will bring the entire industry up to the standard that we already operate on”.
Mandatory customer pre-verification will be enacted through an amendment to Chapter 10 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules Instrument 2007.
