The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has issued a warning to Harris Bookmaking Pty Ltd. Its brand, Chasebet, breached rules requiring the promotion of BetStop, the national self-exclusion register.
Chasebet received a warning, although ACMA has imposed much tougher measures in other cases. In May 2025, the regulator fined Unibet more than $1 million over a prolonged technical error.
How the investigation unfolded
ACMA stated that the company failed to include the required reference to BetStop in three marketing emails and on its website. This requirement applies to all licensed interactive wagering operators in Australia.
According to the regulator’s report, the investigation began after ACMA received a complaint on 25 July 2025, and the matter was formally opened on 27 August 2025. ACMA reviewed three marketing emails dated 19 July, 23 July, and 25 July and classified them as regulated electronic messages because they promoted Chasebet services. The emails contained:
- no mention of BetStop,
- no explanation that it is the national self-exclusion register,
- and no link to the service website.
ACMA also reviewed the operator’s website, where the mandatory BetStop section was also absent in August 2025. ACMA ultimately identified four breaches of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
Why BetStop matters to ACMA
BetStop is Australia’s national self-exclusion register. It launched on 21 August 2023 as part of the National Consumer Protection Framework for Online Wagering. It allows individuals to exclude themselves from all licensed online bookmakers and operators that accept wagers by telephone with a single action. The self-exclusion period can range from three months to a lifetime. Once someone is registered, an operator must not open a new account for that person, accept wagers from them, or send them marketing messages.
Visibility requirements for BetStop are a mandatory part of the consumer protection system. In advertising electronic messages, an operator must include a link to BetStop, explain that it is the national self-exclusion register, and provide a hyperlink to the service’s website. A comparable section must also be placed on the operator’s website, including on the homepage, within responsible gambling pages, and wherever the operator promotes its own self-exclusion tools.
ACMA’s report said Chasebet acknowledged the breach and described it as an unintentional error during a software consolidation process, which has since been corrected. The regulator still maintained the breach finding and warned that repeat issues would trigger further enforcement action.
The Chasebet case in market context
The Chasebet matter is one of many cases in which ACMA applies enforcement measures of varying severity. One of the most prominent cases involved Unibet. ACMA found that Unibet failed to close the accounts of 954 customers registered on the self-exclusion register. Some customers retained access for up to 190 days. ACMA fined the operator $1,014,120 and cited more than 100,000 breaches.
Australian operator PointsBet also received an ACMA penalty of AUD 500,800 (around $365,000) for breaches of spam and gambling self-exclusion laws. The operator sent 508 marketing messages, including to individuals who had self-excluded.
Why the warning matters
Chasebet received only a warning, but the case remains significant for several reasons.
- ACMA has published the full investigation and formal warning, making the breach public.
- The regulator stressed that BetStop requirements represent the minimum standard operators must meet.
- The register is also expanding: as of 31 March 2026, BetStop had 59,830 registrants, including 37,247 with an active self-exclusion.
The Chasebet case shows that ACMA is scrutinising not only who an operator allows to wager, but also how it communicates self-exclusion mechanisms. The regulator’s position is that information about the national self-exclusion register must be clearly visible and easily accessible. Otherwise, operators risk fines or the loss of their operating licence in Australia.
This article was first published in Russian on 20 April 2026.
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