Australia’s planned ban on the use of credit cards for gambling transactions can create a ripple effect that would negatively impact the local video gaming industry, a recent investigation by the video game website Kotaku suggests. The country’s government is looking to introduce amendments to the local legislation that aim to align the rules for remote wagering with those for the landbased gambling industry, which already restricts the use of credit cards for betting purposes. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth recently commented on the move, stating that Aussies should not gamble with money they do not own. The purpose of the measure is to minimise gambling-related harm in the Land Down Under.
As Casino Guardian reported earlier this week, the government intends to implement Bank Identification Numbers (BINs) to prevent credit cards from being used for remote gambling transactions, a practice that is already successfully implemented at brick-and-mortar casinos and pokie venues throughout Australia. The move would be enacted through proposed changes to the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 that are expected to come into effect later this year. The proposed measure came as a result of recommendations made in a 2021 parliamentary inquiry, following reports that suggested as many as 20% of all online gambling transactions were conducted with credit cards.
Australia Could Follow in the Footsteps of Belgium and the Netherlands
Due to ambiguous wording in the Aussie legislation, some fear the restrictions may extend to other gambling-like activities such as loot boxes that are heavily deployed in many video games for monetisation. This might result in an outright ban on loot boxes like those in countries like the Netherlands and Belgium, which, in turn, could have adverse effects on the video game industry in Australia.
Belgium prohibited paid loot boxes back in 2018, while its Dutch neighbour made moves to ban them last year. The restrictions caused considerable concerns among video game publishers, with some even refusing to distribute some of their games in the two European countries. One of the most notorious cases involved game publisher Electronic Arts (EA), which initially refused to remove the randomised loot boxes from its FIFA games despite being threatened with hefty fines by the Belgian gambling regulator.
The game publisher eventually succumbed to the pressure and ceased selling its FIFA Points virtual currency in the country one year after the ban on loot boxes. Other game publishers also adapted their titles and moved on. The efficiency of the Belgian ban is questionable, however. A recent study published by researcher Leon Xiao indicates that the ban was largely ineffective as loot boxes remain present in 82% of the highest-grossing games for iPhone distributed in the country.
Minister Rowland Was Evasive in Her Response
Representatives of the video gaming outlet Kotaku reached out to Communications Minister Michelle Rowland for clarification. However, Rowland was evasive in her response, noting that the Australian government plans to launch public consultations in the months to follow, with the intention to introduce legislation to the Parliament by the end of 2023. The Communications Minister stressed that lawmakers require more time to sort out borderline cases like this one. According to her, the proposed restrictions on credit card online gambling would apply to “wagering operators” licensed in the country as defined in the Interactive Gambling Act.
The video gaming outlet also reached out to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for comment as the latter is expected to receive greater enforcement powers when it comes to gambling advertising regulation under the proposed changes. The advertising regulator failed to return a response.
- Author
Daniel Williams
