Sportsbet Sued by Aussie Gamblers For ‘Illegal’ In-Play Betting

Sportsbet, Flutter Entertainment’s flagship Australian brand, is facing a class-action lawsuit from gamblers who lost money while using its “Fast Code” service.

The lawsuit, filed December 24 in the Supreme Court of Victoria, argues that all “live bets” – otherwise known as in-play bets — placed using Fast Code between December 24, 2018 and December, 24, 2024 were illegal, and millions of dollars in losses should be returned to plaintiffs.

Betting on a sporting event after the event commences is prohibited in Australia. There is an exception to this if the bet is made wholly by telephone,” said Elizabeth O’Shea, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, in a statement.

“We believe that Sportsbet’s use of the Fast Code service is not just an attempt to circumvent important laws aiming to prevent gambling harm, it is also illegal because key information about the bet is communicated by punters otherwise than by a voice call.”

Phoning It In

Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act (IGA), enacted 24 years ago, prohibits bets on events that have already begun unless they are placed via the telephone.

Online operators such as SportsBet attempted several technical workaround solutions which they believed would circumvent this issue.

The first was William Hill’s “Click to Call” product. This allowed bettors to quickly build an in-play wager online, which would generate an alphanumeric code. This could then be “dialed in” to an automated service to enable in-play betting. SportsBet’s Fast Code is essentially the same system.

The effort to increase the friction between the gambler and the betting process was ultimately ignored by some sportsbooks, which continued to insist their products were legal under the IGA.

On The Hook

In December 2023, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) concluded after a yearlong investigation that the operators were in breach of the IGA.

The ACMA underlined that information about the bet selection, bet type, and bet amount, plus confirmation of the bet, must be provided by a customer wholly via a telephone call.

The codes would now only be generated prior to the commencement of a sporting event, according to the ACMA.

Nevertheless, the lawsuit argues that “Sportsbet represented to the plaintiff and group members that the Fast Code service was legal,” while “engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct contrary to the Australian Consumer Law.”