Aussie telecomms watchdog investigating online gambling jurisdictions
News on 18 Jul 2018
News on 18 Jul 2018
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has confirmed that it is looking into the legality of offshore gambling websites using Australian web addresses such as the Cocos and Christmas Islands. The watchdog believes that such sites may be contravening the recently amended Interactive Gambling Act.
Despite being under Australian control, the islands have their own internet country code, and the ACMA has acknowledged that it has limited authority and has to rely on cooperation in such investigations.
Media reports indicate that the operators are not typically based in the Australian territories, but operate from the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and other locations, using domains registered in the territories.
ACMA claims that if such operators are offering unauthorised gambling services to Australians it is a criminal offence
Predictably, anti-gambling politicians have waded in on the issue, with independent MP Andrew Wilkie calling for the immediate shuttering of such websites.
“We are seeing a litany of sites pop up using Cocos (Keeling) Islands domains, which appear to be breaching Australian law,” he said this week. “The Federal Government must take immediate action to shut down these sites and stop them offering illegal services to Australian customers.”
Some of the sites, like planetofbets.cc and JustBets with a domain registered in the Christmas Islands also accept bets in cryptocurrencies. The latter switched to a Colombian domain recently following enquiries by the ACMA.
