Alex Morgan
When Betting Help Becomes Control of Someone Else’s Account
On 8 April 2025, a woman opened an Australian PointsBet account and deposited A$7,000, about $4,900. One week later, its balance was A$110,490, approximately $77,000.
When she requested a change to the registered phone number, PointsBet suspended the account and investigated. It found that a man had played a significant role in operating it. He had previously registered with BetStop, Australia’s national self-exclusion system, through which a person can block their own access to all licensed Australian online bookmakers for a chosen period or for life.
PointsBet refunded the A$7,000 deposit but voided every bet and refused to pay the rest of the balance. The Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission supported that decision.
All Australian-dollar conversions use an approximate publication-date rate of A$1 = $0.698.
What PointsBet Found
The account was opened and verified on 8 April. By 15 April its balance had reached A$110,490, and a request was made to replace its phone number.
The customer said she alone owned and operated the account, although she acknowledged that her partner had helped place some live bets because she struggled with changing prices. Advice by itself would not prove that an account had been transferred. The investigation, however, found more.
The new number belonged to a man identified as Mr I. He confirmed that it was his number and admitted previously operating the account. PointsBet also reviewed 26 live-chat contacts and found that they had been made by a man rather than the registered customer. Mr I had been registered with BetStop since around 5 May 2024.
Taken together, the partner’s account operation, support contacts, phone number and involvement in betting persuaded the Commission that the customer was not the account’s sole owner and operator.
Why the Bets Could Be Voided
PointsBet relied on clause 1.9 of its terms. It allowed the bookmaker to close an account and void bets in attempted-fraud situations, including when an account was used by someone other than its registered holder.
The Commission also considered whether PointsBet should have detected the activity sooner. It found that, before the phone-number request, the operator neither knew nor could reasonably have known that a self-excluded person was using the account.
The regulator therefore upheld the closure, the return of the initial A$7,000 deposit and the voiding of all bets. Formally, the Commission itself declared the disputed bets void under Northern Territory law.
Advice Is Not the Same as Account Control
Discussing a match, using public analysis or considering another person’s opinion does not itself transfer an account. The line is crossed when someone else can act through the verified identity: log in, place bets, contact support or change account details.
This distinction also matters for users of betting assistants and analytical services. Receiving information and making your own decision is different from handing over credentials, payment access or authority to communicate with the bookmaker.
Here, the regulator did not need to establish who selected every individual wager. The combined evidence showed that the registered customer was not the only person operating the account.
Why BetStop Mattered
BetStop is intended to prevent a self-excluded person from accessing licensed Australian wagering services. Using someone else’s account does not merely breach one bookmaker’s internal rule; it circumvents a mechanism designed to protect people from gambling harm.
The Commission nevertheless did not blame PointsBet for failing to identify Mr I earlier. It found that the operator acted once a verifiable signal appeared and applied the powers stated in its terms.
The financial result did not decide this dispute. The decisive issue was who actually controlled the verified account. In this case, third-party control enabled a self-excluded person to wager again, so the Commission considered voiding the bets and returning only the initial deposit justified.