Australia Bans Online Poker, In-Play Betting

Tuesday was a bad one for Australian Internet gamblers, as the Australian Senate passed Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016. The bill effectively outlaws online poker. The bill was introduced in November by Australia’s Minister for Human Services Alan Tudge.

Several betting establishments have already exited Australia because of the bill. PokerStars is expected to be next to leave.

Sports betting is legal in Australia, but in-play betting was allowed only by telephone. But bettors turned to using their smartphones, which was technically legal, but not the way the law was intended. The new bill not only fixed that technicality, but went farther.

This was addressed in the bill with the following clause, “A service whereby any or all of certain information about the bet being placed can be provided by the customer to the operator otherwise by way of a voice call, for example through clicking or pressing an icon or entering betting information via a website, keypad or application, is not a telephone betting service for the purposes of the IGA.”

The bill prohibits any online gambling that is “not explicitly legal” in Australia. Sports betting is the only form of online gambling that is explicitly legal.”

In Australia, there is no way for poker sites to become licensed. Those who continue to operate in the country could face large fines.

The bill gives the Minister for Communications the right to decide what is a sporting event. Things like Esports betting are not allowed federally. But two states have passed their own Esports bills.

The bill also gives the Australian Communications and Media Authority the power to block certain ISPs, detain offending board members and more.

The bill will now move to the House of Representatives, where it has the support to pass. It bill is expected to become law during the early summer.