Today, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) warned local punters to make sure they withdraw their funds from accounts they may have with illegal offshore online gambling operators before the latter are banned.
The warning has followed an announcement made by the Australian communications watchdog that it intends to use its new powers to block illegal gambling websites that are hosted overseas and offer their services to local customers. As revealed by the Sydney Morning Herald, online gambling sites such as FairGo Casino and Emu Casino that are run under a Curacao operating licences and have been targetting vulnerable Australian residents would be among the first offshore gambling providers to fall victims to the ban.
According to reports, Australian people spend up to AU$400 million on dodgy gambling websites on an annual basis. As announced by the ACMA earlier today, online service providers would be addressed by the watchdog that would ask them to block the access to websites which violate the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 under its new regulatory powers that have already been in effect.
Nerida O’Loughlin, the chairperson of the Australian communications regulatory body, is now able to order local service providers suspend websites that are not compliant with the country’s gambling legislation. According to analysts, these powers would be a valuable weapon in the authorities’ battle against illegal online gambling services in Australia.
Illegal Offshore Gambling Operators Target Australians by Using Native Themes and Images
In an e-mailed statement, Ms O’Loughlin reminded that many of these websites simply do not pay tax on their winnings, or pay only an insignificant portion of their revenue to the country. Apart from that, some customers had faced unauthorised fund withdrawals from their bank accounts by such illegal online gambling companies. ACMA’s chair called for Australian punters who have any funds deposited with illegal gambling sites to make sure they withdraw their money before the operators are blocked.
Online gambling companies that have been operating without a licence or with a licence issued by controversial authorities have been blamed for targetting Australians by using themes and images associated with their country, such as native animals or even the Australian flag. As explained by Paul Fletcher, the Federal Communications Minister, a large number of Australian residents were losing money on over 1,000 unlawful offshore gambling sites every year.
Customers are now offered the chance to check whether an online gambling site is legal in Australia or not, as the Australian Communications and Media Authority has published a list of the licensed gambling services in the country on its website. More than 65 illegal companies have withdrawn from operations in Australia since 2017 when the regulator started the enforcement of some new rules against illegal offshore gambling companies.
As mentioned above, now the ACMA has a range of new powers under legislation that was passed in 2017. The new powers of the Australian communications watchdog have been deployed as one of the three legislative recommendations made after a 2015 review of online gambling. At the time when the review was issued under the former NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell, a total of 19 recommendations were made to the Government.
- Author
Daniel Williams
