Ladbrokes, Sportsbet in Hot Water Over Advertising in Australia

Ladbrokes and Sportsbet breaking advertising laws in Australia.

Two more leading online gaming companies have learned the hard way what can happen if they continue to disregard Australian advertising laws as Ladbrokes and Sportsbet both had some explaining to do.

Ladbrokes Digital Australia was found guilty of illegal advertising and ordered to pay a $7,500 fine, plus another $18,000 in law costs after they had offered special incentives for sports bettors in New South Wales.

The well known gaming operator faced illegal advertising charges as the New South Wales Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (OLGR) formally accused them over three advertisements that appeared on Ladbrokes’ Australia-facing website between 2 April and 29 May., with said ads offering new and existing players a chance to win up to $1,000 in free bets per day.

The gaming company was probably unaware of the Racing Administration Regulation 2012, under which betting websites are not allowed to advertise any kinds of rewards as incentives to gamble on their sites, with the maximum penalty standing at $5,500 per violation.

Ladbrokes has thus become the third sports betting operator to be charged under said legal framework in recent months after ClassicBet Paty Ltd and Sportsbetting.com.au had suffered similar destiny a couple of months back.

Sportsbet Comes Under Scrutiny As Well

Paddy Power’s Australia-facing company Sportsbet managed to escape a fine for their exploits, but did get a slap on the wrist for the alleged audacity to make skin cancer a laughing matter.

Some viewers have found one of their adverts offensive and the gaming operator in turn earned a warning from the country’s Advertising Standards Board (ASB).

The advert showed a seriously sunburnt man attending a horseracing event with a voiceover saying “Don’t worry, that’s only a second degree. Spring it on!”, with the scene followed by the company’s betting offers for the Cox Plate Day.

A melanoma survivor then launched his complaint with the ASB for the ad making fun of “such a severe sunburn”, but Sportsbet was adamant they had done nothing wrong and they had no intention of implying that people should note take the skin protection issue very seriously.

With so many residents involved in some kind of gambling, Australia’s authorities are clearly taking the matter of responsible gaming quite seriously and they continue to make efforts to ensure the regulated forms of gambling are as fair and secure as they can be.