UK Online Gambling Behemoth Bet365 Sued by Consumer Watchdog Commission

Here comes the law.

Word just in: UK online gambling giant Bet365 Group has been taken to court by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which says it breached consumer law and made “misleading representations” to customers.

The case pits consumer watchdog ACCC against Bet365, reportedly the UK’s “biggest online betting provider with over 14 million customers in 200 different countries.”

The charges? ACCC alleges Bet365 made “misleading representations” in breach of Australian consumer law with its free bet and deposit bonus offers.

“The offers, it was alleged, “conveyed the general thrust or dominant message that new customers of Bet365 would be entitled to up to $200 in bets without limitation or restriction,” noted ABC Australia. “In fact, the offers were subject to a number of such conditions that were not prominently displayed.”

Bait and switch become bet and switch?

“The ACCC said Bet365 customers “must first risk their own deposit to receive a free bet or deposit bonus, so that consumers would only receive a $200 free bet or deposit bonus if they paid and gambled $200 of their own money first” and in order to be eligible for the offers, customers must have gambled three times the value of their deposit and bonus within 90 days before being able to withdraw any winnings,” explained ABC.

In a nutshell, the suit contends that “to meet the free bet or deposit bonus terms and conditions, consumers were required to bet at odds of no less than 1.5, meaning that they were required to bet on higher risk transactions.”

The ACCC said it had noted Bet365 had “changed its website since the ACCC contacted it about its concerns.”

The squabble is bringing out the lawyers, the gambling community, consumers, and others who are weighing in on the legal case.

But ACCC chairman Rod Sims is not backing down.

“The online betting industry is a growing business sector,” Sims argued. “The Australian consumer law applies to this sector in the same way that it applies to other industries and sectors.”