Gambling Online Guide

Consumer and anti-gambling advocates flagged legal action between hours of the product being revealed at the bank’s total-year profit proclamation in Brisbane yesterday, as revealed solely by brisbanetimes.com.au today. Independent Senator Nick Xenophon, who stanchly opposes gaming, likewise spoke out about the account today. Mr Xenophon said he would pursue authorities to clarify why the product was approved and he intended to bring up the issue in Senate Estimates next week. The Win Account, to be launched on November 15, will be the start of its sort in Australia and is based on common products in New Zealand.

It has little fees and offers an yearly interest rate of 1 per cent, compared to most other savings accounts that offer about 4.5 per cent. Customers will be lured to the Win Account on the chance they can win the $20,000 1st prize in a monthly lottery, with an opening total prize pool of $30,000. When a minimal $250 is deposited, every dollar in the account will earn a ticket in the lottery. But a customer who deposits $1000 into the account stands to lose about $35 per year in interest. Customer groups GetUp! and Choice, which are already pursuing class activity versus 12 banks for what it claims are dishonest fees, have mooted similar action against Bank of Queensland.

Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn said the account was “unreliable” and would motivate gambling, while GetUp! described it as an “immoral” banking practice. The Salvation Army’s head of difficulty gambling services, Gerard Byrne, said the product was not likely to influence existent problem gamblers, who mostly did not save money. Nevertheless, it would ultimately prompt new gamblers. Mr Liddy said yesterday the bank had made the account because it was unable to offer competitive interest rates compared to the prominent four. He opposed suggestions it would incite gambling. “It’s not gambling. You’re putting your money unharmed in a bank and being eventually rewarded … you’re not putting your capital at risk at all,” Mr Liddy said. “It’s a out of the ordinary account that will appeal to some people and some it won’t. We’re not trying to order to people what they do, people will make that choice. “All our market research and the behaviour of the product in other markets suggests some people will love it, others won’t touch it.”

Bank with No Monthly Charges And No Min Balance Required. Sign up now! Australia’s banking regulator says it had no knowledge of the Bank of Queensland’s controversial fresh savings account that offers tickets in a monthly lottery rather than a better interest rate, despite claims it had approved it. The account has been criticised for supporting gambling because it requires customers to forgo an average 3.5 per cent in yearly interest for the possibility to win $20,000 a month. In standing up for the account yesterday, Bank of Queensland (BoQ) chief executive David Liddy said the corporation had gone through two years of scrutiny and been approved by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, as well as and state lottery commissions.

Advertisement: Narrative continues beneath Nevertheless an APRA spokesperson said the regulator had just learned about the product yesterday. It had not approved the account, nor was it necessary to. BoQ chief operating officer Ram Kangatharan was forced to defended his boss, who was on a flight when the revelation was made. Mr Kangatharan apologised and said Mr Liddy had been wrong. Nevertheless, he said the account had been given the go ahead by the relevant state and territory lottery commissions, who regulated savings accounts with trade promotions. “We can pretty much go ahead with it,” Mr Kangatharan said.