Betr has been fined for trying to sign up a self-excluded gambler as a customer ahead of the Melbourne Cup race.

The Northern Territory Racing Commission fined Betr $20,655 for breaching the NT’s online gambling code of conduct when it directly marketed to the self-excluded person with an offer to open a betting account.

The commission’s decision said Betr representatives contacted “Mr M” by phone and text message in early October, shortly after Mr M had joined the NT’s self-exclusion register.

Anti-gambling advocates say the case highlights the need to urgently implement the national self-exclusion register, which is yet to be rolled out despite being legislated three years ago.

“It’s a mystery why this system isn’t already in place,” Carol Bennett, CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said.

“The national self-exclusion register is a bare-minimum measure to safeguard problem gamblers from being targeted by the industry, and the federal government needs to make it a priority.”

The territory’s self-exclusion register allows people around Australia to voluntarily cut themselves off from NT-based betting companies. The self-exclusion period can last months to years, or indefinitely.