The Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission has fined BlueBet AU $53,000 for accepting bets from a customer displaying signs of gambling-related distress.

On 29 January 2022, a customer lodged a complaint with the former commission about his dealings with BlueBet.

The complaint centres on BlueBet’s alleged failure to identify that the customer wagering behaviour was indicative of a person who may be at risk of harm from his wagering activity; and that it was only after that harm had already occurred that BlueBet took some form of action – action which in the complainant’s view was inadequate.

In support of the allegations contained within the complaint, the customer highlighted the following: Excessive Deposits – $700,000 deposited over a four-month period including promotional bonuses – regular bonuses, deposit matches, and funds placed into his account by BlueBet, despite having stated that he was unable to deposit any more money; lack of appropriate customer interaction.

Despite the significant loss of $45,900 in just two days of wagering with BlueBet, the complainant continued to wager, depositing a further $15,000 into his account for the remainder of the month of August. During this period, the customers wagering activity saw his account balance consistently depleted to zero or minimal amounts such as 1 cent.

The complainant’s wagering activity with BlueBet continued throughout October 2021 and although in a somewhat reduced manner from a monetary perspective compared to the previous month, resulted in the Complainant depositing and losing $36,533.39, bringing his total losses for the three months from 5 August 2021 to 31 October 2021 to just shy of $200,000.

BlueBet submitted to the former Commission during its investigation of the complaint that it took appropriate and timely action in response to the Complainant’s wagering behaviour.

The Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission issued BlueBet a fine of $53,380, and ordered to repay $522,000 to the customer.