According to the stereotype, Asians love to gamble. While that may be true to a certain extent, residents of China and similar nations can’t hold a candle to Australia when it comes to punting. According to Las Vegas Advisor, an article by The Economist named Aussies “the world’s biggest gamblers,” with an estimated annual loss of $990 per adult. And according to another report, the online side of the business is growing 15 percent year-over-year.
For decades, the laws regarding gambling in Australia have been on the liberal side of things. A number of brick-and-mortar casinos dot the landscape, some of which also offer poker alongside table and electronic games. Slots and video poker machines (known locally as “pokies”) are perhaps the most popular, and their presence is a common sight in pubs and clubs across the nation.
For sports betting, the Totalisator Agency Board (TAB) allows both tote wagers and fixed-odds bets to be placed. There are nearly 3,000 retail TAB outlets in Australia, and their locations range from sprawling metropolitan areas to the more desolate regions of Oz. Bingo, or “housie” as it tends to be called, is also widely available.
- While gambling via the Internet remains legal for Australians within some areas such as lotto betting and sports betting (as both industries are licensed and regulated within Australia) the Interactive Gambling Act (IGA) explicitly bans online gambling operators from servicing Australians.
- 6 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Gambling is now regulated and legalised in South Australia. However, this legal status has not resolved all the issues which arise in the overlap of gambling and the.
Betting at Internet casinos and poker rooms was supposed to be eliminated by the 2001 Interactive Gambling Act, although penalties were levied against gaming operators and not the players. This allowed Aussie citizens to continue to play with anyone who would accept their wagers, and there were plenty of offshore casinos willing to flaunt the law.
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Gambling Reforms
Sports betting and lotteries remain legal, with small amendments put in place to penalised “click-to-call” betting and unlicensed offshore betting companies offering bets to Australians. Is Online Gambling Legal in Australia? Parts of the Interactive Gambling Act show that not all kinds of web-based gambling operations are forbidden.
Digital technologies are rapidly changing Australia’s gambling industry.
The 2015 Review of Illegal Offshore Wagering (the Review) noted that online wagering is the fastest growing gambling segment, with over $1.4 billion gambled online each year. Digital technology is also enabling operators to reach our phones, our televisions, our home computers at any time of the day or night.
The Review also noted that Australians are losing between $64 million and $400 million every year betting in illegal offshore sites, and this means tax revenue is also lost. In the online world, the proportion of problem gambling is three times higher than in other forms of gambling.
The Government is delivering on its commitments outlined in the Response to the 2015 Review of Illegal Offshore Wagering with stronger consumer protection as the centrepiece of these reforms.
Government’s Response to Illegal Offshore Wagering
On 28 April 2016, the Government announced its response to the recommendations of the Review, supporting 18 of the Review’s 19 recommendations. This commitment included a three-staged approach:
- The establishment of a National Consumer Protection Framework (National Framework) for online wagering, was announced on 30 November 2018.
- Amending the law to make it clear that it is illegal for unlicensed overseas gambling companies to offer gambling products to Australians. The Australian Communications and Media Authority is empowered to have stronger enforcement mechanisms, enacted in the Interactive Gambling Amendment Act 2017.
- Investigating the feasibility of other disruptions measures to curb illegal offshore gambling activity, including voluntary Internet Service Provider (ISP) blocking and financial payment blocking. The Government is currently examining the outcomes of extensive consultations on this final stage of its reform package.
Latest News
National Self-Exclusion Register legislation
On 12 December 2019, legislation providing for the National Self-Exclusion Register (Register) for online wagering received Royal Assent. This included the Interactive Gambling Amendment (National Self‑exclusion Register) Act 2019 and the National Self‑exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Act 2019.
The Register will allow consumers to exclude themselves from all interactive wagering services in Australia, quickly and easily, through a single process. This will meet a critical gap in consumer protection for Australians who participate in online wagering. The Register is a key measure under the National Consumer Protection Framework for online wagering.
The legislation allows the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to procure an independent third party technology provider to supply, operate and maintain the Register. Additionally, the legislation will give the ACMA the necessary powers to regulate and enforce industry compliance in how it interacts with and funds the Register.
National Consumer Protection Framework for online wagering – Baseline Study Final Report.
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On 24 November 2019, the Minister for Families and Social Services, Senator Anne Ruston released the final report of the National Consumer Protection Framework for online wagering (National Framework) baseline study.
The aim of the study was to establish base levels of online wagering involvement, the prevalence of risky gambling behaviour, and levels of online wagering consumer harm, ahead of the full implementation of the National Framework. The baseline study sets a benchmark to inform future evaluation activities to determine the effectiveness of the National Framework.
Undertaken by the Australian Institute of Family Studies the independent study involved an online consumer survey with over 5,000 people who wager online, a review of online wagering service providers’ and gambling regulators’ websites, and interviews with online wagering service providers and regulators.
Over half of the survey participants (52 per cent) were classified as being at risk-of or already experiencing gambling-related harm. This confirms the actions of all Australian Governments to implement the National Framework, and to ensure that it keeps pace with best practice consumer protection and changes in technology over time.
The Report includes recommendations for Government on the implementation of the National Framework and for the future evaluation phases of the National Framework.
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Customer Verification
On 26 February 2019, new rules came into force that significantly reduce the customer verification period for new online wagering consumers from 90 days to a maximum of 14 days. This is the first measure delivered under the National Framework, since its announcement late last year. The measure will be reviewed in 12 months with the intention of further reducing the verification period to 72 hours.
National Framework announcement
Gambling In Australia
On 30 November 2018, the Commonwealth made a public announcement of the joint National Framework. This has been developed in close consultation with the state and territory governments and key stakeholders over two years.
The National Framework provides – for the first time – strong, nationally consistent protections for consumers of Australian interactive wagering providers.
Restrictions on gambling advertising
On 6 May 2017, Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield, Minister for Communications and the Arts, announced the Broadcast and Content Reform Package. The package includes further restrictions on gambling advertising in live sporting events across all platforms to reduce the exposure of children to gambling.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has also recently implemented the restrictions for online platforms. These new rules came into effect on 28 September 2018 and mark the first time ‘broadcast like’ restrictions have been applied to online content services in Australia, providing consistency across broadcast, subscription and online.
On 30 March 2018, the gambling advertising restrictions commenced following the registration of revised broadcast industry codes of practice by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
Betting restrictions and online wagering in Australia - A review of current knowledge
Legal Definition Of Gambling Australia 2017
The Betting restrictions and online wagering in Australia – A review of current knowledge is a report prepared by the Australian Gambling Research Centre (AGRC), Australian Institute of Family Studies, and commissioned by the Department of Social Services.
In September 2015, the Review of Illegal Offshore Wagering recommended that further research be undertaken on the impact of betting restrictions imposed by Australian licensed bookmakers on illegal offshore wagering and the identification of options to improve the situation.
In responding to Recommendation 15 of the Review, the Commonwealth Government commissioned the AGRC to investigate the current extent of betting restrictions and the impact of these restrictions in driving consumers to illegal offshore wagering operators.
The AGRC’s report, Betting restrictions and online wagering in Australia – A Review of current knowledge, provides a range of options for consideration, noting its interaction with other reform areas and the need for further research. The Commonwealth and state and territory governments are currently considering the findings of this report.
Gambling Measures Act 2012
The Gambling Measures Act 2012 took effect on 31 March 2014 and outlines the Commonwealth’s commitment to consult on the development of venue based voluntary pre-commitment in realistic timeframes.
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