The Federal Court has found that Bet365’s Australian and UK companies engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct when offering “free” online bets to new customers, in proceedings brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Bet365 is one of the world’s largest online betting providers. The ACCC claimed that Hillside Australia and Hillside UK between March 2013 and January 2014 had breached the rules with a promotion headed “$200 free bets for new customers”.
“Their relevant conduct was misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive and also involved the making of false representations,” Justice Beach has ruled.
“The free bet offer was directed at new customers, which included inexperienced gamblers and young people.”
Some of the conditions the ACCC was concerned about included a condition under which customers had to gamble a deposit and bonus three times before being able to withdraw any winnings. For example, a customer who made an initial deposit of $200 and received $200 then had to gamble $1200 before being able to withdraw any money.
The ACCC notes there will be a further trial in relation to a penalty expected to be paid by Bet365.