Australia’s media and communications watchdog is reportedly embroiled in a difficult battle against iGaming sites that are plying their offerings to local punters while unlicensed.
The Guardian newspaper reported that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is empowered by the provisions of the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 to force domestic Internet service providers to block access to unlicensed online gambling domains. The regulator has recently placed 18 sites on its ‘blacklist’ of proscribed services, bringing the total number to 222.
Ten troubles
The newspaper report further stated that the ACMA has yet to tackle ten iGaming domains that are reportedly offering their services to Australian punters without an appropriate license despite the regulator being aware of their existence for some time now. The publication’s source revealed that these domains comprise Fair Go Casino, Two Up Casino, Red Dog Casino, True Blue Casino, Cherry Gold Casino, XPokies, BoVegas and PlayCroco, which calls itself an ‘online casino for Australian pokie lovers.’
When crime pays
The Guardian report continued, stating that the Asia-Pacific iGaming market has an estimated value of $70 billion and that Australian punters flocked to these services in their droves due to the numerous stay-at-home orders that were enforced in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The ACMA advised that it is ‘proceeding with the enforcement and disruption options’ it has at its disposal, including ‘website blocking’. The body revealed that it encounters many obstacles to its investigations as some of the offending sites’ use software from Internet infrastructure specialist, Cloudflare, to conceal their registrations.
Heavy penalties
An ACMA spokesperson reportedly advised the newspaper that screening technology of this type flies in the face of the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 and that over 86% of illicit providers abandoned their Australian market aspiration after being contacted by the regulator or receiving a ‘formal warning.’ Unlicensed domains can face fines of up to $1.1 million for every day that they operate in the country without a valid license.
Eagle eye
The ACMA further stated that its website blocking initiative began in n November of 2019 and the action is now considered to be ‘effective in disrupting gambling services being provided into the Australian market.’
The spokesperson characterised the world of online gambling as ‘a challenging and complex environment to regulate,’ stating that the AMCA engages with licensed providers and stakeholders ‘to raise awareness of Australia’s online gambling laws.’
The spokesperson wrapped up by saying,
“Some of the illegal gambling services whose sites have been blocked have either withdrawn of their own accord or have not taken any action to circumvent the blocks. Others have sought to circumvent the blocks by launching mirror sites. We monitor and block mirror sites, sometimes repetitively.”
