MEDIA RELEASE: Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) welcomes the outcomes of today’s Ministerial meeting on a National Consumer Protection Framework for the online wagering industry.

RWA has been working closely with Federal, State and Territory governments to assist the development of new and improved standards for the industry as part of the Framework.

In addition to a range of other measures that form part of the Framework, today’s announcement will see significant reform of the promotions and marketing used by the online wagering industry. We welcome, in particular, the decision by Ministers to adopt RWA’s proposal to ban sign-up promotions.

This will ensure that Australians are able to choose a preferred wagering operator free from any financial incentive. RWA also welcomes the simplification of turnover requirements for bonus bets, with Ministers agreeing that the winnings from a bonus bet must be able to be withdrawn and cannot be subject to further turnover requirements.

This will significantly simplify these types of promotions, ensuring consumers can more easily access the winnings that result from such promotions. RWA also supports the decision by Ministers that customers must ‘opt in’ before receiving marketing materials and that there be a clearly presented option to unsubscribe from such materials.

RWA’s Executive Director Stephen Conroy said that when taken together, these reforms represent a clear win for Australian consumers and will help protect vulnerable members of the Australian community. “The reforms agreed to today are in addition to a range of other measures RWA has been advocating for and represent significant reform,” Mr Conroy said.

“These include measures such as the introduction of a National Self-Exclusion Register, reducing the timeframe for customer verification, compulsory staff training in the responsible conduct of gambling and a simplified and consistent account closure process.

“These positive reforms have the potential to be undermined by the introduction of uncoordinated, State-based Point of Consumption taxes which will reduce the attractiveness of licensed Australian operators and send consumers offshore.

“The positive outcome achieved today demonstrates the important progress that can be made when Federal, State and Territory governments work together. “We look forward to working with Minister Tudge to further refine these measures and to develop effective implementation arrangements for the National Consumer Protection Framework,” said Mr Conroy.