Australia Bans Online Poker and Live Sports Betting

The Australian government has dealt a blow to gamblers by passing the Gambling Amendment Bill 2016 which will close a number of industry loopholes leaving players unable to speculate on live sports or play online poker.

The bill which has been under review since November last year was initially an attempt to stop illegal offshore gambling. With the internet now being most people’s preferred gambling medium of choice, it is very difficult to allow certain sites and disallow others and so the only way to combat it was with a blanket ban on all sites. There were also concerns that minors were able to play at improperly regulated online casinos.
This move has left players furious.

And not all Australian politicians are in agreement. Many support the bill but there are those who think it is pointless. Gambling is fairly prevalent in Australia and there are more than enough real casinos and legitimate bookmakers who will take bets.

The problem more than likely lies in the fact that the Federal Government of Australia loses important tax revenue to offshore betting and poker playing.

But there are apparently loopholes that will allow people to continue playing online. Virtual private networks and offshore accounts enable players to deposit funds and continue as normal and it’s possible that using services such as PayPal will also allow players to top up their accounts while circumventing the law.

The Norwegian government tried a similar blanket ban almost a decade ago, banning the use of Norwegian credit and debit cards to pay for any gambling related service. This was said to be a move to target and help those with gambling addictions, but it was speculated that the lack of tax revenue forced the government’s hand. In that situation, inventive bookmakers soon found ways around it and people continued to gamble online.

The Australian government has also said that the move will help combat match-fixing as they believe that an unregulated offshore gambling system attracts criminal activity.

888 Poker and Vera & John have already closed down their Australian operations and Pokerstars look set to follow suit soon.