ACMA defends enforcement, rejecting claims of softened action in Sportsbet case

Australia’s communications regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), has reaffirmed its firm stance on gambling regulation and recent enforcement actions.

Public scrutiny of the ACMA arose after it emerged that Sportsbet challenged a 2022 enforcement decision and reportedly lobbied the regulator to change the wording of a public announcement about the case.

As ReadWrite previously reported, documents released under freedom-of-information laws showed the ACMA came under pressure to defend its 2022 enforcement outcome against the betting operator publicly.

The ACMA has defended the decision, which resulted in a record AUD 2.5 million ($1.7 million) fine after finding Sportsbet had sent marketing texts and emails to tens of thousands of people who had already attempted to unsubscribe, breaching Australia’s spam communications regulations.

ReadWrite contacted the ACMA for comment following the criticism. The regulator rejected any suggestion that its enforcement action had been diminished or that it had failed to hold Sportsbet to account for the breach.

The ACMA said its compliance and enforcement activities are designed to stop unlawful conduct, deter future breaches, and protect consumers from harm.

“In our spam prevention activities alone, in 2024-25 the ACMA issued infringement notices to companies totalling more than $13.5 million,” the regulator said.

That figure includes a AUD 7.5 million ($5 million) penalty imposed on the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), alongside a court-enforceable undertaking for millions of similar spam email breaches.

Commonwealth Bank has paid a $7.5 million penalty after it sent more than 170 million marketing emails that didn’t comply with Australia’s spam laws.