While online bingo operators had been expecting and hoping that the Australian Government would remove the 2001 anti-gambling legislation, this is not to be the case. In fact the Government is looking to the United States for ways to crack down on oversees operators taking illegal deposits.
The Assistant Treasurer of the Australian government, Nick Sherry, commented that despite the positive recommendations made in the Productivity Commission Report on Gambling, the government will not be following the advice.
It is reported that Australia has one of the highest problem gambling rates in the world, but many experts believe this is related to alcohol. Australian bars combined with of slot machines, is thought to be the source of the problem. It is estimated that there around 160,000 people issues relating to problem gaming in Australia. However independent reports also suggest that the tax and player protection benefits which could be gained from allowing online gambling would be beneficial.
The government had released the 2010 Productivity Commission Report into Gambling for consideration by states, territories, industry and the wider community. The report was supportive of reforms that minimise the harm caused by problem gaming, which appears to be the logic behind the government’s policies. However, it also recommended that the federal government should work in conjunction with state and territory governments in amending Gambling Act 2001 to allow for a liberalisation of online gambling, starting with allowing the provision of online poker games to Australians.
Online poker, the Commission said, along with other gambling forms currently exempted from the Interactive Gambling Act, should be subject to legislation that ensures the minimisation of harm from problem gaming, including prominently displayed information on account activity, as well as information on problem gambling and links to problem gambling support.
Requirements should also include automated warnings of potentially harmful patterns of play; the ability to self-exclude; the ability to set limits expenditure limits in advance (with defaults set to new accounts and players)
The Commission also suggested that the government should have an effective system of monitoring the legislation, to ensure risks were minimised, through both the use of further legislation and the performance of the overseeing bodies. Such systems should be used to evaluate whether the provision of online poker card games should continue to be permitted, and whether such legislation should be extended to other online gaming forms.
While the recommendations are similar to the approach taken introduced by the French government and being considered by a number of other European nations as the best way forward, it appears the Australian government is not moving on its zero tolerance strategy.
Nick Sherry confirmed that the government does not agree with the suggestions of the Commission and the current prohibition on the provision of online gaming services to Australians will therefore continue to apply. It is not convinced that liberalising online gaming would have benefits for the Australian community which would outweigh the risks of an increased incidence of problem gambling, particularly alongside rapid changes in technology.
The Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, reportedly commented that the government believed that any potential benefits of allowing online gambling would be outweighed by the likely rise in problem gambling
It has also been suggested that in addition to ignoring the Commission, the Australian government intend to review legislation with a viewing to further tightening of the law. Research will be conducted into how other countries such as the United States deal with online gaming in an attempt to ensure more effective reduction on problem gaming and the social impacts that it imposes on society.
The 2001 Interactive Gambling Act banned online bingo, casino and poker, however many Australians continue to play on oversees sites and a number of government ministers have stated that the country is looking at how the Americans passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which has lead to online gaming operators barring United States customers for fear of the severe penalties.
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