Online Casinos to be Reviewed by Australian Government
Many Australians wonder about the legality of playing online pokies and while there are many great online casinos for Australian players, are they in fact legal? Worry not Australian online pokie players as you’re not breaking the law in any way, as the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 states that it is not illegal for an Australian resident to gamble in an online casino. It would be against the law to operate an online casino in Australia, but as you’re not doing that, then all is fine.
It is in fact the operators of offshore casinos that cater for the Australian casino games player that are coming under the spotlight as the Federal Government has asked for a gambling site review to be carried out, and it’s the former New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell that will be leading the investigation.
At present there are over 30 online gambling sites that offer sports betting in Australia however there are many more sites that offer online casino games and online poker and these sites fall out of Australian jurisdiction, meaning that as they’re operated outside of Australia then there is little that the government can do about them. It’s this situation that is to be reviewed, and specifically what the economic impact is, or indeed is there one.
The Australian government has also stated its concerns over problem gambling and the fact that the legal sports betting sites in Australia must stick to tough guidelines whereas in the offshore sites, regulated outside of Australia, those guidelines cannot be enforced.
There is however a slight twist in that the offshore online casinos that many Australians enjoy playing in, are in fact regulated, just not by the Australian government, in fact many of the best Australian online casinos are enjoyed by players from around the world, including the UK, where licensing laws are just as tough. The review will no doubt conclude that yes, there are many online casinos for Australians, and that at present, the Australian government can do little about them.
