Australian media regulator blocks seven illegal online gambling sites

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2025/04/16: Australian gambling regulator blocks four illegal gambling sites 2025/06/09: Australian regulator warns betting companies over self-exclusion breaches 2025/02/17: ACMA blocks eight illegal gambling websites in Australia 2025/07/28: Australian regulator issues remedial direction to ReadyBet for targeting self-excluded players

The Backstory

Why Australia keeps tightening the screws

Australia’s online gambling crackdown has accelerated over the past two years as the communications regulator turns repeat warnings into penalties, audit orders and hard blocks. The Australian Communications and Media Authority, or ACMA, began requesting internet blocking in November 2019 and has since leaned on a broader toolkit to push illegal operators out of the market, shore up self-exclusion safeguards and curb aggressive marketing. The aim is to close the loopholes that let offshore sites reach Australians and to ensure licensed bookmakers honor rules designed to limit harm.

Website blocking remains a visible front line. ACMA’s latest move to cut access to seven more sites followed a steady cadence of actions that has seen 1,338 illegal gambling and affiliate sites blocked since the first request. The regulator says more than 220 services quit the market after the 2017 rule changes, a measure of deterrence that sits alongside rising enforcement against onshore licensees that push marketing beyond legal limits or ignore self-exclusion alerts.

Against that backdrop, the current development fits a pattern: a regulator combining technical blocks with compliance crackdowns to make it harder for illicit services to reach consumers and harder for licensed firms to skirt obligations without consequence.

From site takedowns to market retreat

Recent blocking waves show the breadth of targets, from casino-style sites to skins and prediction markets. ACMA directed ISPs to block Crown Gold, Maxispin Casino, Rain.gg, Didibet, LuckyBet, Malina Casino and Spins of Glory after finding they breached the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, according to one of the regulator’s latest rounds. Predictions platform Polymarket was also among operators banned in August.

The agency has kept up the pace. In April 2025, an investigation led to blocks on Megabet Prize, TF2Royal, Casino Intense and Mega Medusa, part of an enforcement campaign that began in 2017 and has grown since late 2019. ACMA warned that illegal operators lack core consumer safeguards and pointed bettors to its licensing register, as detailed in its April blocking update. Earlier, eight platforms including JokaRoom, Instant Casino and Wild Pokies were stopped for apparent breaches of the 2001 law, per a separate action.

Yet the offshore market remains sizable. Responsible Wagering Australia estimated in its 2023 analysis that illegal overseas wagering accounted for roughly AU$1.1 billion, or about 15 percent of the sector, a reminder that site blocks do not fully stem demand. The consequence is a long-term enforcement campaign in which ACMA pairs blocks with pressure on domestic operators to lift standards and reduce harm.

Self-exclusion failures put safeguards under scrutiny

A central test has been BetStop, the national self-exclusion register that requires all betting companies to close accounts and stop marketing to registered individuals. ACMA has found repeated lapses. It warned four operators — Buddybet, Ultrabet, Topbet and VicBet — for failing to fully honor self-exclusion, including sending marketing messages and, in Buddybet’s case, leaving accounts open for people who had signed up to the register. The actions and outcomes, including a court-enforceable undertaking from Ultrabet and formal warnings to VicBet and Topbet, are outlined in ACMA’s self-exclusion enforcement update.

PointsBet was separately fined AU$500,000 for letting self-excluded individuals access its platform, underscoring the risk for large brands that fail to synchronize customer systems with the register. For consumers, BetStop is meant to be a straightforward way to step back from gambling across all legal operators for periods that range from a few months to permanent. ACMA’s official guide explains how it works and the obligations on operators, including the fact that companies must close accounts and cease marketing once a person is registered; see the agency’s description of BetStop and self-exclusion periods.

The regulator has escalated when warnings do not suffice. ReadyBet received a remedial direction after ACMA found it sent 273 texts and push notifications between August and December 2023 to people on BetStop and failed to promote the register in more than 2,300 push messages. The order requires an external audit within 30 days and staff training to prevent further breaches. Details of the direction are in ACMA’s redacted notice to the company: Remedial Direction – ReadyBet – June 12, 2025. As ACMA has signaled, noncompliance with a remedial direction can prompt civil penalties.

Marketing penalties expand from inboxes to VIP programs

Alongside self-exclusion enforcement, ACMA has pursued spam-law breaches tied to gambling promotions, especially where messages target VIPs or lack consent and opt-outs. In June, Tabcorp was fined AU$4 million and ordered to undergo an independent review of its marketing systems after sending thousands of messages that violated Australia’s spam laws, a case that set a high-water mark for penalties and compliance expectations.

Betfair became the latest large operator to face consequences. It paid an AU$871,660 infringement notice after ACMA found the company sent 148 emails and texts to VIP customers between March and December 2024 without valid consent or with no unsubscribe option. The enforcement requires a two-year court-enforceable undertaking with independent reviews, internal audits, staff training and regular reporting. The penalty and undertakings are detailed in coverage of ACMA’s Betfair action and the regulator’s investigation report and enforceable undertaking.

The through line is clear: ACMA is using spam-law enforcement to reshape how operators market to high-value customers and to reinforce that consent and opt-out controls are not optional. These cases also complement self-exclusion enforcement by reducing the chance that people who opted out of gambling will be pulled back in by promotions.

What’s at stake for operators and consumers

For legal operators, the risk calculus has shifted. Failures on self-exclusion or marketing can now bring six- and seven-figure penalties, court-enforceable undertakings, external audits and system overhauls that are costly and intrusive. ACMA’s willingness to escalate — from warnings to remedial directions and financial penalties — raises the compliance bar across the sector and narrows the room for error.

For consumers, the stepped-up approach offers clearer protections. Site blocks make it harder to access offshore casinos that lack dispute resolution, age checks and deposit limits. Self-exclusion enforcement, backed by penalties, improves the odds that BetStop works as intended. Tighter spam-law compliance reduces unwanted promotions that can trigger harm, particularly for those trying to quit.

Still, the offshore market’s persistence means ACMA’s campaign is likely to continue. The agency has shown it will keep adding illegal domains to block lists while pressing licensed firms to improve controls. As more cases move from warnings to formal undertakings and fines, operators face a simple equation: invest in compliance upfront or pay more later, with reputational damage on top.

Each new action — whether another round of blocks like the April site takedowns or a remedial order such as the ReadyBet directive — signals that the regulator expects measurable, auditable improvements. That is the backdrop for the latest development and the likely playbook for what comes next.