AUSTRALIAN ONLINE CASINOS

IMPORTANT NOTICE: REVISED INTERACTIVE GAMBLING ACT BRINGS CHANGE TO ONLINE CASINO IN AUSTRALIA.

Over the past two years the gambling industry has experienced some massive growth and seen many expansions as more and more countries are moving towards welcoming regulated gambling in their region. In 2017 one can only assume there are big things coming for gambling all over the world. 

Australian players are some of the first to experience some massive changes in online gambling regulations. These changes lead to the best online casinos & industry giants Microgaming’s and NetEnt to withdraw from all Australian regions, meaning that players are not able to access their wide variety of slots and online games for the time being.

FUTURE UNCLEAR FOR GAMBLING OPERATORS

The main goal of the proposed changes in the regulation is to provide players with a safer and more regulated experience. The new bill will be set in place to tighten restrictions on offshore operators. The Interactive Gambling Amendment bill 2016 was introduced to parliament early in November 2016 by Communications Minister, Mitch Fifield. Now accepted and passed through parliament it will be implemented in September 2017.

The new bill followed the review of existing laws during which it became apparent that a few gambling groups have been getting around the existing restriction on live betting. These live betting services managed to do so by simulating a phone call better known as “click to call”.

According to Human Services Minister, Alan Tudge, hundreds of illegal gambling services are easily accessible via the internet. Tudge believes this is a massive problem seeing as 2.7% of interactive gamblers are problem gamblers.

Once the new laws are instated it will prevent illegal offshore providers from targeting vulnerable Australians or acting immorally.

TAKING CONTROL OF ONLINE GAMBLING

The Australian government is focused on taking tougher action against illegal offshore wagering providers. With the new bill in place, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) will have the power to issue warnings, infringement notices, civil penalties, and injunctions. Acma will also have the power to provide other international regulators with details about the prohibited gambling services. 

The proposed Interactive Gambling Act also brings forth some exciting changes. Under the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 (IGA) Australian firms were not allowed to offer real money casino or poker games to Australian citizens. The proposed amendments to the IGA will allow Australia to become more competitive in the online gambling world. Australian service providers for live-betting and online poker will be expected to match a series of standards set forward by the Australian government. 

As soon as the standards for these companies have been finalised there will be a trial period for online poker. Sites will receive licenses to offer online poker but will not be allowed to offer any other online casino games, which will still be considered as illegal on any approved sites.

A NEW DAY FOR GAMBLING IN AUSTRALIA

One of the biggest and most exciting amendments will be allowing gamblers to make live or in-play bets on sporting events online. Micro-betting could possibly be banned at both online sites and live betting locations.

The IGA will give out heavier penalties to companies and individuals in Australia running illegal gambling sites. Action will be taken against the websites and directors of the companies will be held liable for their illegal gaming offering by the Australian Federal Police. Illegal sites could be shutdown permanently.

All the proposed changes to the IGA are put in place to minimize the possible harm of online gambling. The monitoring of online betting activities will allow the government to prevent any match-fixing.

All of these potential changes to the IGA could be instigated if the bill passes through parliament. The support for the bill has been tremendous from both the gaming industry in Australia to a variety of political figures.

2017 could just bring with it a bright new future for online gambling in Australia. The focus is on protecting the citizens and their funds while increasing the responsible gambling causes.

Do you have any suggestions, comments or requests regarding Australian online casinos? Contact us now and share your thoughts.

A History of Online Casinos in Australia 

Online Casinos are a popular option for many around the world. They offer the ability to play exciting casino games from the comfort of your own home and try out different games to learn the rules. Australian online casinos are no different. 

The development of online casino is closely linked with the internet boom in the late 90’s. Casino operators and software companies started to provide versions of traditional casino games such as slots machines, Blackjack and roulette via either downloaded software or via web browsers.

Over the next 10 years download casino games moved with technology to web or browser based casinos that worked on any computer connected to the internet. To start with via flash then more recently with HTML5 casino games. With the increase in performance of smart phones, online casino has now become common place on mobile devices a well (estimated that over half of online casino games in Australia were played on mobile during 2017). 

Due to the growth in the sector the Australian parliament created the Interactive Gambling Act (IGA), which set out to to stop or control companies offering casino games of chance to the Aussie public. The bill was amended in 2016, as it previously it did not restrict offshore online casinos (casinos regulated in the UK or Malta for example) from providing their services to Australia and came into fruition in September 2017. It is at this point the best online casinos and game providers shuttered their windows and doors to the market and stopped accepting Australian customers.