Palmerbet Breached BetStop Rules, Enters 18-Month Undertaking With ACMA
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has found that Palmer Bookmaking Pty Ltd, which trades as Palmerbet, breached the rules of BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register. The regulator announced on 23 September 2026 that the bookmaker kept a registered customer’s account open for about 17 months and accepted 312 bets from that person. Palmerbet has entered an 18-month court-enforceable undertaking with the ACMA.
What happened
Under BetStop rules, a licensed wagering provider must close the account of a customer who registers with BetStop as soon as practicable, and must not accept bets from or send marketing to that person during the exclusion. According to the ACMA findings:
- the customer registered with BetStop in September 2023;
- Palmerbet did not close the customer’s account until February 2025;
- between December 2024 and February 2025 the customer placed 312 bets with Palmerbet.
According to iGaming Business, Palmerbet ran its register checks for this customer with incorrect details, including a shortened first name and a wrong date of birth. The register therefore returned no match, and the account stayed open until a check produced a positive match on 22 February 2025. The ACMA estimated that, with accurate details in September 2023, the account could have been closed within 24 hours.
The outcome
Under the undertaking, Palmerbet must commission an independent review of its compliance systems and processes and invest in the improvements the review recommends. The company has also repaid all deposits the customer made from the date of their BetStop registration until the account was closed. No financial penalty was announced.
A court-enforceable undertaking is a formal commitment made to the regulator. If Palmerbet does not comply, the ACMA can apply to the Federal Court for orders to enforce it.
Earlier BetStop cases
Palmerbet is not the first licensed bookmaker to fall foul of the register. Reports of the decision listed several earlier ACMA actions:
- Unibet paid a penalty of $1,014,120 in 2025 after failing to close the accounts of 954 customers registered with BetStop.
- Entain’s Ladbrokes and Neds brands entered a court-enforceable undertaking in May 2026 after more than 500 breaches.
- Winners Bookmaking, TempleBet and four other wagering services have also faced ACMA findings or penalties.
What it means for Australian players
BetStop places the legal obligation on the bookmaker, not on the person who registered. If you are registered and a licensed provider still lets you bet, still holds an open account in your name or sends you promotions, that is a breach the ACMA can investigate. You can report it to the ACMA, and in this case the customer’s post-registration deposits were returned.
The case also shows why the details you give when registering matter. BetStop matches registrations with customer records held by bookmakers, so using your correct legal name, date of birth and address when you sign up, and keeping the details on any betting accounts accurate, helps the system work as intended.
Our guide to BetStop explains how registration and matching work, and the self-exclusion overview compares BetStop with venue-based schemes. If you want to complain about a licensed operator, see how to file a gambling complaint in Australia. Support services for people affected by gambling harm are listed on our help services page.
Background
BetStop launched on 21 August 2023 and covers all Australian-licensed online and phone wagering providers. By 31 July 2026 it had recorded 67,480 registrations, with 41,290 exclusions active. The gambling reform package passed in August 2026 adds a ban on direct inducement marketing for three months after a person deregisters from BetStop, and a levy to recover BetStop promotion costs from the industry.
It kept the account of a BetStop registrant open from September 2023 until February 2025 and accepted 312 bets from that person between December 2024 and February 2025.
No financial penalty was announced. Palmerbet entered an 18-month court-enforceable undertaking, must commission an independent compliance review and repaid the customer’s deposits made after registration.
Report it to the ACMA. Licensed providers must close a registrant’s account as soon as practicable and must not accept bets from or market to that person.
Sources
- ACMA: Palmerbet breaches gambling self-exclusion rules (September 2026)
- Gambling.com: ACMA says Palmerbet failed to close self-excluded customer’s account (23 September 2026)
- iGaming Business: report on Palmerbet’s BetStop failures and customer data controls (24 September 2026)
- ASGAM: Palmerbet enters court-enforceable undertaking (23 September 2026)
Header photo: Harness Racers (21766576679) by Paul VanDerWerf from Brunswick, Maine, USA, licensed CC BY 2.0.