Impact of Self-Exclusion Policies on Sports Betting and Online Casino Choices

The regulator estimated that about 220 illicit operators have withdrawn from the market. Regulators state that once an individual registers with the NSER, the operator must close that account. ACMA’s investigation into Unibet discovered that the failure to close the affected accounts has resulted in 100,000 breaches of Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act of 2001. In addition to the financial penalty, Unibet has agreed to a two-year court-enforceable undertaking. Just a couple of months ago, France’s gambling regulator, ANJ, issued a record-breaking $843,000 fine to SPS Betting, which operates Unibet in the country. As long as fines stay small relative to revenue, operators will likely see them as minor inconveniences rather than serious deterrents.

Unibet Alternatives

The undertaking requires an independent audit of the operator’s compliance systems and implementation of recommended improvements. If regulators want to enforce real consequences, they must impose fines proportional to revenue and consider stricter measures like license revocations. FDJ’s acquisition of Unibet and its exit from Poland suggest that strategic business decisions, not fines, drive compliance. Regulators use them to send amessage, but major operators continue questionable practices because the financial consequences remain minimal. For a brand of this size, deliberately operating illegally while treating fines as minor expenses raises ethical concerns. In the Netherlands, former players are suing Unibet for losses before online betting became legal in 2021.

Navigating the Future of Gambling Control

In addition to the above, you can set a loss limit, deposit limits, or take a time out. With this, you will manage how much you gamble and protect yourself from chasing losses. For example, you can deactivate the sports section or even casino games on the Unibet website for a period.

• Betchoice Corporation, the parent company of the online betting platform Unibet, has been fined $1,014,120 for not shutting down the accounts of 954 customers who had chosen to self-exclude from gambling.
• All these measures help you manage your gambling activity without closing your Unibet esports account.
• Between March 2021 and December 2022, a system malfunction let thousands of self-excluded players continue gambling, undermining responsible gaming efforts.

Player protection: Unibet fined by the ANJ

Despite repeated offenses, these fines remain insignificant compared to Unibet’s Australian revenues. The company promoted price push offers—enhanced odds classified as illegal gambling inducements. CRUKS (Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen) is a cornerstone of the Netherlands’ gambling framework, providing players with a way to self-exclude from gambling activities. With years of experience in the gambling industry, ranging from local news reporting to international investigations, Maxime brings a deep understanding of the complexities of today’s news landscape. In addition to the fine, SPS Betting must publish the decision in the Official Journal of the French Republic and unibetofficial.com post a notice on Unibet.fr and its applications from 17 to 31 March 2025, informing users of the penalty.

Before leaving Poland in 2024, it served Polish players without a local license, violating gambling laws. Unibet presents itself as a reputable global brand but has repeatedly operated in unregulated or illegal markets. NSW law forbids operators from enticing people to bet, yet Unibet had already faced a AU$48,000 fine in 2021 for similar violations. The violation occurred when Unibet, facing increased traffic, modified its standard registration process, enabling sign-ups without verifying the Dutch citizen service number (BSN). Unibet has strengthened its self-exclusion processes after becoming the first UK operator to integrate blocking software courtesy of Gamban.

This fragmentation allows operators to establish platforms that do not participate in self-exclusion schemes mandated by certain countries. Gamban technology can be downloaded across multiple devices to block access to over 30,000 online gambling websites. During the Football World Cup, a significant increase in traffic led to errors in the verification of Cruks at Unibet. To address these issues, the operator allowed players encountering registration errors to manually enter their Citizen Service Number (BSN).

Each day the account remains open constitutes a separate breach, hence why Unibet accumulated well over 100,000 separate breaches in the 954 accounts. If a customer’s self-exclusion period concludes and they choose to resume gambling, they must create a new account; access to previously closed accounts is not permitted. Self-exclusion has a clear and measurable effect on betting behavior among users who register. Online gambling operators are required to offer players a self-exclusion mechanism enabling them to exclude themselves from gambling for a set period of time, ranging from 24 hours to 12 months. This mechanism is designed to offer a break to players who feel vulnerable to gambling or who want to take a step back.