Online betting operator Lottoland has started legal action against the Federal Government of Australia after a recent investigation found that the company has breached gambling legislation by offering services which it is not allowed to under the existing laws.
The probe commissioned by the federal media watchdog was primarily focused on the jackpot betting product of Lottoland that determines winners by pulling numbers from financial markets at opening time, then arrange it into a longer number and then convert it into the winning numbers. At the time when the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) revealed the results of the investigation, the regulatory body shared that several online jackpot betting services provided by Lottoland were actually games of chance.
The problem is that games of chance are currently not allowed to be offered on the territory of the country.
According to information provided by the regulatory body, these games included US Millions, US Power Jackpot, the Monday and Wednesday Jackpot, Tuesday Jackpot and Thursday Jackpot betting services.
The findings have been the latest blow to the online gambling operator’s operations in Australia. Lottoland started offering the new jackpot betting product after the Australian Parliament said that the company’s main product – lottery betting – was illegal. The lottery betting product of Lottoland offered customers the chance to place bets on the outcomes of various lotteries, both local and overseas ones, without them being obliged to buy a lottery ticket in any draw.
Lotto and Newsagents Blame Lottoland for Cutting into Their Businesses
As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian division of Lottoland decided to file legal action against ACMA in the New South Wales Supreme Court because the company believes the regulator’s view on its jackpot betting product is wrong.
According to the online lottery betting operator, its jackpot betting products, which had once been approved by the licensing authorities in Australia, has not violated any part of Australia’s gambling legislation. The Chief Executive Officer of the company’s local division, Luke Brill, explained that the operator had done a lot of work to adapt its services to recent changes brought to the law.
Mr Brill further noted that the legal action against ACMA comes as part of Lottoland Australia’s efforts to guarantee freedom of choice.
The operator has provoked controversial reactions since its arrival in the country, as it was seen as a threat to lottery provider Tabcorp and local lotto and newsagents who offer lottery products. The company, however, has managed to expand in popularity through a series of TV advertisements, and now claims to have 750,000 customers on the territory of Australia.
As mentioned above, the Australian Parliament passed a federal ban on lottery betting sites such as the one of Lottoland after an increased criticism and campaigns from the regular lottery operators and ticket sellers, according to whom “synthetic” lottery websites such as Lottoland had been draining extremely large parts of its revenue.
The legal action started by Lottoland to dispute the regulatory body’s findings was confirmed by ACMA. The regulator, however, said that it would not comment on the issue while legal proceedings are on.
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Olivia Cole
