Picklebet hit again over BetStop self-exclusion lapse

• Picklebet pays A$19,800 for providing wagering services to a BetStop registrant.
• The customer had registered with BetStop hours earlier, the ACMA found.
• Breaches will attract substantially higher penalties from January 1, 2027.

Australian wagering operator Picklebet has paid a penalty of A$19,800 for providing wagering services to a customer registered with BetStop, the national self-exclusion register.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced the outcome on October 22.

Hours, not months

An ACMA investigation found that Puntaa Pty Ltd, which trades as Picklebet, accepted bets on February 9, 2026 from an individual who had registered with BetStop hours earlier. Picklebet closed the individual’s account later that day.

Australia’s self-exclusion rules bar licensed operators from providing wagering services to anyone on the register. Operators must also close existing accounts as soon as practicable and stop all electronic marketing to registered individuals.

The ACMA’s investigations register records a single contravention of subsection 61KA(3) of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. The matter was dealt with through an infringement notice.

A second finding

This is the second time this year the ACMA has found Picklebet in breach of BetStop rules. In January, the regulator named the operator among six licensees that breached the rules during 2024, alongside Tabcorp, LightningBet, Betfocus, TempleBet and BetChamps.

That earlier investigation found Picklebet had opened an account for a registered individual and provided them with wagering services. At the time, the ACMA said it was still finalizing enforcement action against the operator.

The February breach came 11 days after that announcement. In the same statement, the ACMA warned it may take stronger enforcement action if the six companies failed to comply in future, potentially including Federal Court proceedings to seek civil penalties.

The other five operators received different outcomes. Tabcorp, which separately paid more than A$2.7 million for telemarketing breaches in July, paid A$112,680 and entered a court-enforceable undertaking.

BetChamps received a formal warning. Betfocus, LightningBet and TempleBet were issued remedial directions requiring independent audits of their systems.

Enforcement gathers pace

Picklebet is the latest of several BetStop cases the ACMA has closed since September. Dabble Sports paid A$1,069,200 in penalties after failing to close 157 accounts held by registered customers. It also sent 839 electronic messages to 165 self-excluded people.

Palmerbet entered an 18-month undertaking the same month. The ACMA found it accepted 312 bets from a self-excluded customer between December 2024 and February 2025. The account was only closed around 17 months after that person registered.

Commenting on the Dabble case in September, Carolyn Lidgerwood, member at the ACMA, said:

“BetStop is an important consumer protection measure, but it only works if wagering companies follow the rules.”

Higher stakes ahead

The register itself keeps growing. BetStop launched on August 21, 2023, and 65,430 people had registered by June 30, 2026, according to the ACMA’s latest quarterly statistics. Of those, 40,160 exclusions were still active.

The ACMA said new laws commencing on January 1, 2027 will further strengthen BetStop. Breaches will attract substantially higher penalties from that date.

The timing adds to a crowded compliance calendar. Wagering brands are already reworking celebrity and influencer campaigns under the ACMA’s notable persons guidance.

Picklebet’s case shows that a gap of a few hours between registration and account closure is enough to trigger enforcement.