Australians have an established reputation for being a nation of gambling enthusiasts, currently even holding the top global spot for betting per capita. Given the populace’s ravenous enthusiasm for gambling, regulators are constantly looking to make the local gambling industry as safe and responsible as possible and this has resulted in the creation of some laws and regulations.
Online betting in contention
An increasing number of countries across the globe have started tweaking their laws and attitudes to take full advantage of the opportunities that the online marketplace presents. The casino gaming and sports betting sectors, in particular, have accelerated their development to better ride the wave of digital possibilities. Recent global events have driven innovation in sectors that have also experienced explosive growth over the last year or so.
The Australian gambling marketplace is no exception and there are a plethora of online platforms available to Australians where they can enjoy games like roulette, slots, and poker, with plenty of local listing sites making it easy to find a preferred online provider. The one quirk of this situation is that none of these online casino operators are based in Australia.
The reason for this is that in 2001, the Australian government introduced the Interactive Gambling Act (IGA), which bans offering web-based gambling services to Australian citizens. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is responsible for enforcing the IGA.
Arguably counterintuitive
The Act has drawn criticism from detractors as it only prohibits the provision of online gambling facilities, but not their usage. This means that Australians can freely engage with offshore operators without any consequences.
The AMCA for its part is left to seek out and block the flourishing outcrops of foreign casino sites, which seems to have proven a challenging task thus far as the country’s gamblers take to these platforms in increasing numbers. According to the AMCA, since its first blocking request in November 2019, 263 illegal gambling websites have been blocked, and around 130 sites have voluntarily left the Australian market since the country’s new illegal offshore gambling rules were implemented in 2017.
While many of these sites are run by reputable operators, there is the danger that players can stumble across services that may not have the highest ethics or best practices, leaving them open to risks like losing their money or even having their online identity stolen. Critics have also pointed out that the Australian economy is missing out on potential tax revenue from an industry that could generate billions.
Only time will tell whether the Australian government decides to follow international trends and embrace the concept of a legalised online gambling industry within the country, or if it will continue along its current trajectory in an effort to shield its citizens from the perils of online gambling.
