- Tweets from PokerStars to concerned players have confirmed that the app was pulled country-wide.
- The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 in Australia prohibits most forms of internet gambling and poker, but allows sports betting and lotteries.
- Back in April, Australian Senator Dr Richard Di Natale called specifically for the PokerStars app to be removed from the Apple store.
- PokerStars is currently in the midst of a PokerStars Anywhere promotion to encourage mobile play.
The PokerStars and 888 poker apps have been removed from the Apple App Store at the request of the government, pokerfuse understands.
No formal statements have yet been released from any parties involved, but tweets from PokerStars to concerned players have confirmed that the app was pulled country-wide, and players are directed to voice their concerns with the authorities.
“Your local authorities are the best point of call for information. As far as we know it’s a 'clamp down’ on mobile gaming,” reads one tweet made Sunday.
The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 in Australia prohibits most forms of internet gambling and poker, but allows sports betting and lotteries. However, until now, online poker has been enjoyed throughout the country without restriction, as the IGA does not include any effective measures to enforce its anti-online gambling provisions.
Back in April, Australian Senator Dr Richard Di Natale called specifically for the PokerStars app to be removed from the Apple store.
“We don’t allow online poker in Australia for Australian people under the Interactive Gambling Act,” Di Natale stated, and asserted that Apple had “... an obligation to take down apps that are against Australian law.”
PokerStars Anywhere—Except Australia
PokerStars’ real-money app allows players to play on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices. It exists in many Apple stores throughout the world. The play-money app is unaffected. Players who already have the real-money app installed can continue to use it, though it will not receive new updates.
Android apps are unaffected. No real-money gambling apps are allowed in the Play store, but there are no restrictions on installing apps from outside the Google ecosystem. Operators are free to host installation APK files from their own servers.
The timing for PokerStars is unfortunate. It is currently in the midst of a “PokerStars Anywhere” promotion to encourage mobile play. Daily sweepstakes for iPads and cash are being awarded every day if players earn at least 10 VPPs from playing on a mobile app.
The future for online poker in Australia is murky. The Australian government recently released a study recommending the regulation of online gambling as part of a consumer protection initiative, but the the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) rejected further recommendations to legalize online poker tournaments right away.
The recently published “Review of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA)” concluded that the existing law “may in fact be exacerbating the risk of harm because of the high level of usage by Australians of prohibited services which may not have the same protections that Australian licensed online gambling providers could be required to have.”