ACMA develops GamStop equivalent to tackle problem gambling in Australia
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Australia is stepping up its efforts to ensure that self-exclusion is up and running across the country and that citizens are protected from the effects of unwanted gambling. The regulator that is pushing ahead with this ambitious plan is none other than the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
ACMA, as the watchdog is known for short, has been busy of late, delivering swift punishments to companies that have breached the country’s Gambling Act. Now, though, the regulator turns its gaze inside the country, hoping that BetStop, the equivalent of GamStop, would actually enable Australians who wish to exclude themselves from gambling to do so successfully.
Basically, operators in the country would need to make BetStop available in the country. This encompasses an operator’s full offering, including its website, mobile app, and marketing messages. In fact, this is no different than the way operators in the United Kingdom promote GamStop.
ACMA will seek compliance from operators. This is to say that if a person is registered with BetStop, they must be denied entry into a gambling service. Should a person be provided entry anyway, the penalties for this offense could be stiff, as, under the revised rule, penalties to the tune of $500,000 are now applicable.
GamStop had some issues with properly calibrating itself and safeguarding itself against some small changes to personal details allowing problem gamblers to cheat their ways back to gambling services. BetStop has this experience and its own to now provide Australians with a trusted and well-regulated product that will protect them from harm.
Australians are some of the most prolific gamblers as well, with 80% of the adult population engaging in some form of gambling. ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin is confident that the new solution can offer a way to ensure that consumers remain protected.
"BetStop will help those at risk of gambling harm to take control of their situation, allowing them to block themselves from all licensed online and phone wagering services in a single process," the executive assured.
Changing gambling habits can be difficult, O’Loughlin acquiesced, but this doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Customers who use BetStop could start making a positive change in their lives, she added. However, before BetStop becomes available, O’Loughlin urged people who need to exclude to do so by reaching out to operators and telling them about their problems so that they would be restricted access.
ACMA has also been frantically working to ban every offshore gambling website. These websites seldom have concerns about problem gamblers and they are in the business to make more money out of vulnerable consumers. This has to stop, with ACMA already banning more than 555 such websites.
