The Australian Communications and Media Agency (ACMA) has responded to complaints surrounding illegal operating sites in Australia and blocked a further ten. The sites have been providing services that go against the standards set in the Australian industry.
State of betting in Australia
There are various laws in Australia that allow gambling operators to provide services in the country. After applying for an operating licence, suppliers can provide different activities such as casinos, lotteries and wagering. With that being said, operator licences are usually always territory-based in Australia meaning that the number of legal operators across the country isn’t as big as we think.
Complaints
After several complaints about various offshore betting sites operating illegally, the ACMA has taken the sites to an investigation. It appears that each of the ten illegitimate websites has been operating against Aussie laws. More specifically, they have violated the rules set out in the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 meaning their services are not meeting industry standards.
The ten websites under investigation are PokieZ, Pokie Mate, House of Pokies, Play Croco, Aussie Play, All Spins Win, Golden Reels, Pokie Spins, Bonza Spins and Golden Pokies.
What happens from here?
The current state of gambling in Australia allows the ACMA to block a range of websites that violate gambling rules offshore and across the country. Blocking illegal sites will mean that they can no longer operate in Australia and will be continuously monitored. There are now 238 blocked illegal gambling websites in the country, and the ACMA does not expect these numbers to settle anytime soon.
Black market operators pose a danger to the betting world. Affiliates should be careful of what they’re promoting and should attempt to stay fully up to date on Australia’s extent of unregulated and unlicensed providers.
