Aussie online gambling bans being effectively enforced, claims regulator
News on 2 Nov 2018
News on 2 Nov 2018
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) released a report this week covering the first twelve months of enforcement of the Interactive Gambling Amendment Act 2001, which came into effect in mid-September 2017 and effectively banned online casino and poker activity in Australia whilst allowing online sports betting to flourish under government licensing and regulation.
Highlights of the report include:
* 33 tier one international online gambling sites have withdrawn from Australia in the 12 months following the implementation of the ban;
* The ACMA received 108 reports from the public concerning regulatory contraventions;
* 18 ACMA investigations were launched which persuaded a number of operators to stop servicing Aussie punters;
* A total of 62 ACMA investigations were completed in the twelve months since the new law came into effect, with 38 proving offenders to be in breach of the Act.
* 34 international operators were warned regarding compliance, and 23 responded positively;
* All told, 58 websites were warned off by ACMA, with 35 now compliant;
* The ACMA enlisted the aid of gambling regulators in fifteen important and popular international gambling jurisdictions;
* The organisation also advised 33 software providers and 10 payment processes with global services of the Australian gambling ban;
When it comes to the practical efficacy of the ACMA actions, the body is somewhat ambivalent, using numbers from Global Betting and Gaming Consultants to predict that more than 50 percent of business with unlicensed international sites by volume will have fallen off by end 2018.
However, it acknowledges that such detail is difficult to quantify in the face of figures from H2 Gambling Capital which suggest that a decline of around 7 percent is more likely, and that offshore unlicensed operators will still account for 40 percent or more of the Australian online gambling market.
News on 2 Nov 2018
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) released a report this week covering the first twelve months of enforcement of the Interactive Gambling Amendment Act 2001, which came into effect in mid-September 2017 and effectively banned online casino and poker activity in Australia whilst allowing online sports betting to flourish under government licensing and regulation.
Highlights of the report include:
* 33 tier one international online gambling sites have withdrawn from Australia in the 12 months following the implementation of the ban;
* The ACMA received 108 reports from the public concerning regulatory contraventions;
* 18 ACMA investigations were launched which persuaded a number of operators to stop servicing Aussie punters;
* A total of 62 ACMA investigations were completed in the twelve months since the new law came into effect, with 38 proving offenders to be in breach of the Act.
* 34 international operators were warned regarding compliance, and 23 responded positively;
* All told, 58 websites were warned off by ACMA, with 35 now compliant;
* The ACMA enlisted the aid of gambling regulators in fifteen important and popular international gambling jurisdictions;
* The organisation also advised 33 software providers and 10 payment processes with global services of the Australian gambling ban;
When it comes to the practical efficacy of the ACMA actions, the body is somewhat ambivalent, using numbers from Global Betting and Gaming Consultants to predict that more than 50 percent of business with unlicensed international sites by volume will have fallen off by end 2018.
However, it acknowledges that such detail is difficult to quantify in the face of figures from H2 Gambling Capital which suggest that a decline of around 7 percent is more likely, and that offshore unlicensed operators will still account for 40 percent or more of the Australian online gambling market.
