- The “Review of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA)” recommends the implementation of a regulatory framework that includes making online poker tournaments legal.
- Australia plans to establish a national standard for harm minimization and consumer protection.
- Until such a plan is in place, “the Government will not be pursuing the recommended changes relating to the trial of online tournament poker or ‘in-play’ sports wagering.”
A study by the Australian government released this week has recommended regulating online gambling as part of a consumer protection initiative.
The “Review of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA)” recommends the implementation of a regulatory framework that includes making online poker tournaments legal.
The IGA currently prohibits most forms of internet gambling and poker but allows sports betting and lotteries.
However, due to the lack of enforcement mechanisms, the “IGA may in fact be exacerbating the risk of harm because of the high level of usage by Australians of prohibited services,” the review by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) concluded.
In response to the review, Senator Stephen Conroy, Minister of the DBCDE, outlined the government’s plan to establish a national standard for harm minimization and consumer protection to “... provide a consistent approach to online gambling regulation across all Australian states and territories.”
Standards will be set for the use of credit for making wagers, limits on inducements offered by gaming operators and the mandatory imposition of self-imposed loss limits.
Until such a plan is in place, “the Government will not be pursuing the recommended changes relating to the trial of online tournament poker or ‘in-play’ sports wagering.”
Assuming that such a consistent set of policies can be agreed upon by state governments, the federal government will move to implement a framework which will cause operators to “cease offering higher risk types of online gambling,” such as online slot machines, and “only offer online gambling services that are of a relatively lower risk (for example, online tournament poker).”
The carrot of legal online gambling will be accompanied by the stick of greater enforcement measures against unlicensed operators. A blacklist of such operators will be compiled and circulated to Internet Service Providers and financial institutions.
Even if nationwide harm minimization measures can be agreed upon, there is plenty of opposition that could derail the implementation of the recommendations.
Member of Parliament Andrew Wilkie opposes the basic premises of the report. He believes “the best response is not to liberalise the Australian market, but rather to tighten it up and put in place strategies to deter Australians from accessing the dangerous offshore sites.”