An influencer has been given a formal warning after breaching Australia's online gambling laws.
Jamie Mullarkey, an MMA fighter who competed in the lightweight division of the UFC until May this year, has been pinged for a sponsorship deal with an offshore company.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority found Mullarkey promoted illegal online gambling services to his 28,000 Instagram followers.
The 31-year-old posted a series of sponsored to posts to his account in 2025, using hashtags selected by the gambling service.
His Instagram profile also referred to the sponsorship arrangements and had a direct link to an illegal gambling website.
It is prohibited in Australia to provide an interactive gambling service to customers, including online poker. The services are not allowed to be promoted in any way.
Individuals could face up to $59,400 in penalties but Mullarkey has dodged that with just a warning given he promptly deleted the posts and ended the sponsorship.
Separately, the Federal Court on Monday ordered a combined $24.4 million in penalties to be imposed on the providers of three online poker services, known as PPPfish, Shuffle Gaming and Redraw Poker.
The decision followed an earlier $5 million penalty ordered for another company.
"This decision sends a clear warning that offering online poker to Australians is illegal and there are serious consequences for those who breach the law," ACMA chair Nerida O'Loughlin said about the decision, for which proceedings commenced in 2022.
Communications Minister Anika Wells last week introduced legislation to further restrict gambling advertising.
The laws are a long-awaited response to the late Labor MP Peta Murphy's recommendations, made in 2023.
Ms Murphy and her parliamentary colleagues recommended a total ban on all forms of advertising for online gambling in Australia, to be implemented over three years.
Under her timeline, the final of four distinct phases would have been implemented last month.
National Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858
