Australian Online Casinos Law

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Last week, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) published its first report into suspected violations of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, which was amended last year to ban. Online Casino Exclusive Bonuses for Australian Players. Despite all the obstacles, bonuses are available at most of the best Australian online casinos.Before the regulation changes, Australian casino players were considered privileged, and they were always eligible for all online bonus offers. Finding the best Australian online casino sites to play at in 2020 can be challenging, but rest assured the team at AustralianCasinoSite.com is here to guide you through the process. The best online casinos have changed significantly since a law update in Australia in 2017, which effectively ban.

  1. The Interactive Gambling Act (2001) was passed by the Australian Commonwealth Parliament on 28 June 2001. It received assent on 11 July 2001 The Act is targeted at online gambling operators, making it an offense for them to offer 'real-money' online interactive gambling to residents of Australia.
  2. Australia Online Casino Guide. Our expert casino reviews for Australian players are extensive, in-depth, highly trusted and perpetually upgraded with fresh cognition. Generally, an sole licence has been granted in each state or geographical region to conduct off-course betting in retail venues. The top 5 Australian online casinos are as follows.

Australia has yet to fully embrace online gambling. It has made progress when compared to the United States, but is far behind European countries.

The main form of legislation that covers online gambling in Australia is the Interactive Gambling Act. It was enacted in 2001. The Act only covers the actions of companies offering gambling, not players. Australia law forbids the marketing of unregulated online forms of gambling. No such law covers the action of players at gaming sites.

Sports betting, racing and lotteries are the only forms of online gambling that are legal under the Interactive Gambling Act. There are restrictions on what companies may spread in terms of games.

Which online gambling games are legal in Australia?

[toc]There are no legal restrictions on the games available to players. Online poker, blackjack, craps, roulette, slots, video poker and table games that include cards are all legal to play. Companies that offer these games may not advertise to Australian residents. This means that no licensed sites spread poker and casino games.

The main internet games specifically permitted by law to Australian betting shops involve sports and racing. Traditional pari-mutuel betting on horses is legal for online betting. Sports wagers that involve straight bets, parlays, teasers and futures are also completely legal. The only sports betting niche not legal under the Interactive Gambling Act in on-play.

Interactive Gambling Act

Australia passed the Interactive Gambling Act in 2001. The country enacted this law to deal with the explosion of online gambling during that era. The Interactive Gambling Act banned companies from marketing online poker and casino games. It effectively barred Australian gaming companies from accepting players from within the country for those services.

(1) For the purposes of this Act, an excluded wagering service is:

(a) a service to the extent to which it relates to betting on, or on a series of, any or all of the following:

(i) a horse race;

(ii) a harness race;

(iii) a greyhound race;

(iv) a sporting event;

(b) a service to the extent to which it relates to betting on:

(i) an event; or

(ii) a series of events; or

(iii) a contingency;

that is not covered by paragraph (a).

Australian gambling sites are specifically permitted to offer poker and casino games to players outside of the country. The main condition of this exclusion is that these sites must add other countries to the excluded list upon request from the government.

This did little to prevent online gambling in Australia. Online poker and casino sites located outside the country entered it and accepted Australian players. This annoyed local betting shops that were unable to accept players at restricted games from inside the country.

Australian betting companies are permitted to enter sports betting and racing. Those forms of gaming have a long history of popularity in Australia. Companies that operate bricks-and-mortar shops may accept online sports wagers.

The only exception to the online sports betting exemption is in-play betting. This is where bets are placed on games that are in-progress. This type of wager is illegal over the Internet in Australia, as noted in the quoted law below. They are accepted in person and over the phone. This restriction does not seem to apply to “Click to call” apps that basically provide a workaround to the online restriction by using voice instead of clicks to place wagers.

(1A) Subsection (1) does not apply to a service unless such other conditions (if any) as are specified in the regulations have been satisfied.

(2) Paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) do not apply to a service to the extent to which:

(a) the service relates to betting on the outcome of a sporting event, where the bets are placed, made, received or accepted after the beginning of the event; or

(b) the service relates to betting on a contingency that may or may not happen in the course of a sporting event, where the bets are placed, made, received or accepted after the beginning of the event.

Australia has yet to pursue offshore operators of poker and casino sites. It does not seem to be a priority for the government. There is talk about modifying the Interactive Gambling Act to help it apply better to the constantly evolving online gaming market.

Potential player safety situation caused by Interactive Gambling Act

One of the biggest problems with the Interactive Gambling Act is that it prevents brands familiar with Australian players from participating in the country’s internet poker and casino industry. This opens the door for offshore sites that feel that they are outside of the enforcement arm of Australian law. While many poker and casino sites that accept Australian players are legitimate, there are some that are scams that operate with the sole intent of stealing deposited funds from players.

The lack of access to this market by companies in Australia makes it possible for dodgy operators to enter the market. There is no gaming commission to punish rogue operators. Players have no recourse if they become victims of a scheme.

Australian Online Betting FAQ

Is online sports betting legal in Australia?

Yes. Most Australian betting shops offer internet sites.

Is online horse racing legal in Australia?

Yes. The same companies that offer online sports betting also accept wagers on horse races.

What sites accept sports bets from Australian players?

Betway,Bet365, William Hill and Ladbrokes are among the most popular Australian betting sites.

Is online poker legal in Australia?

Online poker is not technically illegal in Australia. Offshore companies that do not market gambling operate in a gray area. Companies located in Australia may not.

Are online casino games legal in Australia?

The same online poker gray area applies to casino games. All sites are located offshore similar to New Zealand.

Have any online poker or casino operators been convicted in Australia?

The Australian government has never taken legal action against offshore gambling sites.

Australians have earned a reputation of being the world’s worst gamblers as Aussies by nature are really competitive and like to have a punt on just about anything that has an outcome determined by probability.

Best slot machines to play in harrah's ac. This is one of the main reasons why online casino operators thrived in Australia for a number of years until the government decided that it was time to put a stop to all online gambling activities.

Australia Makes Gambling Laws Clear In 2017

Australian gambling laws were not very clear when it came to online gambling services and hence many iGaming operators set up shop in Australia and ran very successful online casinos. They welcomed Aussie players with a range of special welcome bonuses that gave them free spins, free cash and free chips to play with and try their online gaming offerings.

The iGaming market down under was very competitive and casino operators advertised heavily and marketed their services with little to no restrictions. The success of the online casino industry in Australia resulted in a spike in problem gambling numbers which kept increasing with every passing year.

This caught the attention of the Australian government who decided in that it was time to the existing gaming regulations and they introduced the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill (IGAB) 2016. The Senate reviewed the proposed amendment and approved the same in March 2017 and the bill came into effect from September 2017.

The passing of the bill ensured that there were no grey areas within Australian gaming laws that could be misinterpreted. Australian gaming regulation makes it clear that iGaming operators can no longer online gaming services to players in the country; an Australian iGaming company could no longer operate legally in the country and provide online casino games to other jurisdictions and unlicensed operators are not legally allowed to offer services to residents in Australia.

Top iGaming Operators Exit Australia

The decision to ban all forms of online casino games did not come as a surprise to iGaming operators since the Australian government discussed the potential ban for more than a year. Once the IGAB 2016 was officially implemented, it forced a mass exodus of iGaming operators to wind up operations and exit the Australian market.

Some of the operators that shutdown their operations down under included the likes of:

  • PokerStars
  • Partypoker
  • 888poker
  • 32 Red
  • Vera&John

Some of the smaller operators decided to stay on for a little while longer to see how things would turn out but the big operators did not want to fall afoul with the law.

The mass exodus proved to be really challenging for Australian players as they were earlier spoiled for choice when it came to choosing an online casino. The ban on iGaming operators left the market dry and caused hardships for thousands of Australian players who were used to making a living playing online casino games.

Some of the smaller iGaming operators stayed back and took the risk of continuing to offer online casino games to players in Australia. However, their offerings were not as impressive as before as some of the top casino game developers including NetEnt and Microgaming also exited the Australian market.

Australian players love to spend loads of time trying out different pokies on a daily basis. The lack of big name developers in Australia made it difficult for online casinos to offer their players an impressive selection of games. This meant that Aussie players had to work with a limited number of slot games from smaller providers, did not have access to progressive jackpot games and the variety in their online casino games was suddenly very limited.

Unscrupulous Operators Target Australia

The sudden exodus of reputed iGaming operators from Australia created a vacuum in the market as Australian players were still looking to play online casino games. A number of unscrupulous iGaming operators took advantage of this situation and started targeting Aussie players. Stories about players not being paid or having their accounts closed have become common place. This could have all been avoided if Australia chose differently and regulated the market. Now we have to read sad stories like this, which should not happen in a regulated market

The authorities and state gaming regulators continued to crackdown on these unscrupulous operators but have found it difficult to shut them down completely as they keep using different names and domains to evade the authorities.

Law

This has made it difficult for Aussies to find reputed and trustworthy online casino. While they are hard to find, there are still a number of reliable and reputed online casinos that offer Aussies a great online gaming experience.

If this is it, why all the fuss

Reputed and Safe Australian Online Casinos

Some of best deals Australians can get at online casinos are of the no deposit variety, because they are practically risk free. Go to Casinoshortlist.org, our choice for these types of online casino offers.

Australian Online Casinos Law Online

The no deposit bonus ensures that players do not spend any real money of their own and hence removes them from all risk. The list of recommended no deposit casinos usually offer a lot of free spins as they know just how much Aussies love to play the pokies.

Australian Online Casinos List

There are some no deposit casinos that offer free cash which allows Aussie players to use it on classic table games. A few no deposit casinos offer players a combination of free spins and free cash to let them try out multiple offerings.

These smaller casino operators may not have a large gaming portfolio but their services are reliable, their games are entertaining and their payouts are safe and secure. Online casinos like True Blue Casino, Pokie Spins Casino and Play Amo have proven to be a hit with Australian players over the last couple of years.

Safe Australian Online Casino

Players can take advantage of the no deposit bonuses offered by these reputed and safe Australian online casinos and see if they enjoy their online casino experience. If they end up having a good time, they can make a deposit and start playing real money games. Always take the time to read the terms and conditions governing these no deposit bonuses to ensure you get the most out of your free bonus!

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