Entain Customers Swept Into Class Action Over ‘Illegal’ Fast Code Betting

Entain has informed Australian customers who lost money using its Fast Code betting service that they have been automatically included in a class-action lawsuit alleging the service broke the country’s gambling laws.

The online gambling giant has denied its Fast Code feature, which allowed gamblers to make in-play bets on games, was unlawful, but the Supreme Court of Victoria ordered the company to notify affected customers and advise them of their rights. Entain operates Neds and Ladbrokes in Australia.

Dailing It In

In Australia, betting on a sporting event after the event commenced is prohibited under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA), unless the bet is made wholly by telephone.

Online sportsbooks sought technical workarounds that they argued allowed them to offer in-play betting without violating the IGA.

One early example was William Hill’s “Click to Call” product, which allowed customers to build an in-play wager online and receive an alphanumeric code. The bettor could then relay the code through an automated telephone service to place the wager. The Fast Code service operated essentially on the same principle. 

Legislation introduced in 2016 and enacted the following year sought to close the loophole by requiring telephone betting services to be conducted wholly by voice call.

Some sportsbooks nevertheless continued offering code-based products, maintaining that they complied with the law.

In December 2023, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) concluded following a yearlong investigation that several operators’ use of Fast and Quick Codes breached the IGA.

The regulator determined that information identifying the bet selection, bet type, and bet amount, as well as confirmation of the wager, had to be communicated by the customer wholly via a telephone call.

ACMA ultimately declined to take enforcement action because the operators had changed their systems to comply with the interactive gambling rules.

System Tweaked

Under the revised system, Fast Codes would be generated before a sporting event began, independently of any customers’ bet selection, and would be generic and identical for all customers.

Nevertheless, the lawsuit includes “persons who have placed one or more bets with Entain using the Fast Code Service from 4 March, 2019, to 4 March, 2025, and suffered loss or damage arising from their bets with Entain using the Fast Code Service.”

Entain has filed a counterclaim arguing that if the class action succeeds and it is required to refund losing bets, it should also be entitled to recover winnings previously paid to those customers.