Dimensiones de Gestión de Conocimiento

3.4.1 Terms and conditions of inducements

The JSCGR (2011) observed the importance of reading the fine print terms and conditions to understand inducement offers, as the details are not usually presented in the advertisements. Few jurisdictions or codes of practice include specific requirements regarding the provision of the terms and conditions of inducements in a readily accessible and easily read form. Denmark has the most prescriptive approach in requiring essential conditions to be displayed with the advertisement when possible, or with direct links when space is limited. Although some of the codes of practice state that terms and conditions are to be clear and accessible to consumers, the reality is that essential terms and conditions are rarely provided in full with the inducement advertising.

The audit of inducements (Chapter Four) found that the majority of inducements displayed a number of associated terms and conditions or provided a hyperlink to the terms and conditions. However, many others did not provide easy access to the terms and conditions, with the worst group simply referring to the company’s general terms and conditions. General terms and conditions often ran into hundreds of pages, expressed in legal terminology. The complications multiplied when the incentives involved the provision of bonus bets, which were themselves subject to a separate raft of terms and conditions.

It is not surprising that some wagering consumers feel misled by inducements when the conditions are not easily accessible. There is a clear need to develop a minimum standard for the acceptable

presentation of the terms of inducements.

3.4.2 Broadcasting and advertising

Broadcasters have self-regulated for many years, with governmental support. In response to

government pressure, the broadcasting and advertising organisations in Australia strengthened their voluntary codes of practice to limit the proliferation of gambling promotions during and around sporting events. These included amendments to the Commercial Television Code of Practice, Commercial Radio Australia Codes of Practice and Guidelines, and Code of Ethics of the Australian Association of National Advertisers.

The revised version of the Commercial Television Code of Practice incorporates provisions relating to gambling advertising that were strengthened in response to community concerns about gambling advertising. The old version of the code simply provided that gambling advertising must not be broadcast in G classification periods Monday to Friday, nor on weekends between 6.00 am and 8.30 am, and 4.00 pm and 7.30 pm. However, gambling advertising was permitted during news, current affairs and sports programs, and lottery and keno advertisements are exempt. In 2013, a new section was inserted into the code imposing detailed new restrictions on the promotion of odds and

broadcasting of betting advertising before, during and after live sporting events. Clause 8.10 of the code requires betting advertising to be socially responsible and to not mislead or deceive the audience. A responsible gambling message is required to be included with the advertisement. The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) brought in a new Code of Ethics at the beginning of 2012 that requires its members to comply with the Prevailing Community Standards as determined by the Advertising Standards Board. The Advertising Standards Board membership reflects a wide range of community interests.

In December 2012, a Sportsbet advertisement was held to be in breach of section 2.6 of the AANA Code of Ethics (Advertising Standards Board case no. 0476/2012). Section 2.6 of the AANA Code of Ethics provides that advertising or marketing communications should not depict material contrary to prevailing community standards on health and safety. The advertisement featured a mobile banner ad with the text ‘Bet on every race, every day, from your mobile’. The Board noted that there is a genuine community concern around gambling and any portrayal that encourages excessive gambling. The Board agreed that the availability of a mobile phone app for the purposes of gambling is not of itself encouraging excessive gambling. However, a majority of the Board considered that the phrase was suggestive of frequent and continual betting and encouraged excessive gambling. Sportsbet voluntarily withdrew the advertisement.

3.4.3 Complaint resolution

An accessible, convenient and fair complaints resolution mechanism is an important consumer protection measure. Stakeholders generally acknowledge the importance of consumer protection, and many of the governmental and self-regulatory regimes provide for a specific complaint resolution process. The availability of a complaints resolution process should be advertised on the operator’s website.

Typically complaints are first made to the operator, which will investigate and determine the complaint internally. In some cases, a dissatisfied complainant can then apply to a third party to have the complaint considered, such as a government regulator, industry body or independent arbitrator. The availability of a complaints resolution process is relevant to the issue of inducements, as terms and conditions are often complex, and consumers may become dissatisfied.

The IAGR (2008) recommends that operators provide information on their website about their complaints procedure, including how to make a complaint against the operator and provision for adjudication of complaints by the regulator or an approved third party.

TheIndependent Betting Adjudication Service (2015) is an independent organisation based in London that is used by a large number of offshore wagering operators including 10Bet, Betfair.com and Stan James. It will determine consumer complaints made against member organisations when customers are dissatisfied with outcomes from internal dispute resolution. The service is free to applicants and offers procedural fairness, objective standards and confidentiality.

3.4.4 Credit

The provision of credit or delayed payment of betting accounts may be considered an inducement to gamble. The JSCGR (2011) was unconvinced that all inducements should be treated as simply standard advertising practice, referring to the case of a Melbourne man with a mental illness who ran up $80,000 in debts with Sportsbet. The JSCGR noted that the case demonstrated the danger of a combination of free bets and credit.

The provision of credit by bookmakers was established in the on-course bookmaking era, when the presence of pickpockets at racecourses made it hazardous to carry large amounts of cash. There are now many quick and safe methods of transferring funds to an Internet wagering operator anywhere in Australia or the rest of the world. The provision of credit or delayed payment of betting accounts is sometimes justified by the industry on the grounds that, if it was prohibited in Australia, the local industry would be at a disadvantage to international operators. However, the availability of credit to gamble is clearly an inducement that encourages some people to gamble more than they would if they had to actually transfer funds into the wagering operator’s account first. Problem gamblers are also greatly influenced by the availability of credit.

3.4.5 Loyalty programs

Loyalty programs have not been considered by regulators or specifically addressed in industry codes of conduct. However, it is generally accepted that they are an inducement and need to be treated similarly. For example, Betfair (2012) advised the TGC that it had recently implemented a player loyalty program called ‘Betfair Black’ which provided a variety of rewards to key customers. Betfair assured the TGC that it would take all necessary steps to ensure that the loyalty program complied with the Responsible Gambling Mandatory Code of Practice (TGC, 2012).

Although loyalty programs are clearly a form of inducement to gamble, they are not considered in any detail in this study. Loyalty programs are not easily comparable with other types of inducement, as they have little influence on the initial decision to sign up to a business and have greater significance over a longer period of time.

3.4.6 Affiliates

Affiliates receive a payment or commission for referring punters to wagering operators and facilitating the betting process. Typically, affiliates operate independent websites with a click-through process to direct customers to the wagering operator. Most Internet wagering operators use affiliates. An example is Bet365 (2015), which will accept referrals from affiliates and track their transactions, providing a report of the customer’s transactions to the affiliate, and paying a referral commission of 30% of the net profit earned. Affiliates are required to use the wagering operator’s approved

advertising creative material. Affiliates are identified in some codes of conduct, such as the CEN Workshop Agreement (2011), where operators are required to ensure that their affiliates abide by the same standards as the operator.

Another form of affiliate arrangement involves the placement of a designated computer terminal that directly links up to the wagering provider. In 2009, VenueNet Pty Ltd announced an intention to install hundreds of touch-screen betting kiosks, also called ‘betboxes’ in hotels across Australia (Oakes, 2009). The company argued that the VenueNet kiosk was simply a computer with Internet access that put the customer in touch with Sportsbet in the Northern Territory. The VCGR seized a VenueNet kiosk from a Melbourne hotel and prosecuted VenueNet. The company was convicted in the Melbourne Magistrates Court of assisting the hotel in conducting the business of an illegal betting house and possessing unauthorised instruments of betting. The question of whether Victoria’s action against betting kiosks was unconstitutional as being in restraint of trade and commerce was

considered by the Full Federal Court in The State of Victoria v Sportsbet Pty Ltd (2012). The court held that the provisions were not discriminatory nor were they protectionist because the law applied equally to Victorian bookmakers and interstate bookmakers.