Advice for online gambling consumers

With today’s technology, gambling online is easy and accessible. But you should understand what protections you have as a consumer when using an online gambling service.

Generally, the Australian consumer law applies to any products or services consumers buy from a business in Australia. So, for example, it is illegal for businesses, including gambling businesses, to:

• behave in a misleading or deceptive way
• act unconscionably, including by taking unfair advantage of you by giving you documents they know you won’t understand (including electronic documents)
• claim to offer gifts, rebates or prizes and then not provide them
• offer gifts or benefits as an incentive to buy something, but only if you refer another person to the business.

Online wagering providers based in Australia must comply with the rules regarding your consumer rights, as well as meet their gaming licence requirements.

These providers are regulated in the state they are licensed in. In Queensland, the regulator is the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR).

National framework to reduce harm for consumers

The federal and state governments have developed a set of standard minimum protections for online gamblers—the National Consumer Protection Framework for Online Wagering—that online wagering providers must follow.

These protections provide consistent, easy-to-use tools and information to ensure that consumers are receiving responsible service and are given better ways to control their gambling.

Read the fact sheet on the framework and its 10 measures for more information.

Queensland-specific protections

Queensland has enhanced the protections against incentives offered by online wagering providers set out in the framework.

Under the law, these providers and on-course bookmakers:

• cannot offer any credit, voucher, reward or benefit to try to get a person to open a betting account or refer another person to open an account
• must allow winnings from a complimentary betting credit or token (a ‘bonus bet’) to be withdrawn without being subject to any turnover requirements
• must follow strict rules around direct marketing, like emails and direct messages
  • they can only be sent to customers who expressly agree to receive them
  • customers must be able to easily unsubscribe from receiving them
  • no further direct marketing materials can be sent to a customer once they unsubscribe.

Complaints

If you have received irresponsible service of gambling from an online provider, we suggest you talk to the business first to give them the opportunity to explain or investigate the issue.

If they can’t give you a satisfactory response, you can lodge a complaint with OLGR. Read more about complaints against liquor and gaming licensees.

If you live outside Queensland, you can raise the issue with the government agency that issued the provider’s licence—this should be displayed on the provider’s website.

Many online wagering providers are licensed and regulated by the Northern Territory Government—see the list of sports bookmakers and betting exchange operators licensed in the Northern Territory.

If the provider is licensed in the Northern Territory, read about complaints and disputes at NT Consumer Affairs for more information about resolving your issue with the provider.