Australian Online Gambling Controls

Posted on Mar 23, 2011 in Australia Casinos

Looks like the Australian politicians always have something to say when it comes to the Australian online casino gambling industry. This time the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Gambling Reform has gone to the extent of branding the current online gaming industry as “The Wild West”.

Well if you are wondering what that is supposed to mean, it simply means the introduction of stricter controls in this sector. The man who called the Australian online gambling industry “the Wild West” is Andrew Wilkie who is an independent member of the Australian Federal Parliament. He has proposed stricter controls using his position as the Chairman of Parliamentary Committee for Gambling Reform. According to his interview to the Sydney Morning Herald, Wilkie stated that he plans to produce the proposal to the Reform Committee in April, once the necessary pre-commitments on poker machines are completed.

The Australian Interactive Gambling Act currently permits sports betting on the internet as the only form of online gambling that is legal in this nation. However the online gambling industry is worth $1 billion per year and more and more Australians are enjoying offshore gambling websites for online gambling fun. The same newspaper has also reported that the legislation that bans online gambling in not fully implemented, claiming that since 2001 the federal police have been busy chasing leads on 17 complaints regarding suspected unlawful operators. Wilkie did not fail to add that online gambling was a significant problem in Australia, but he did not disclose any details. While speaking about the online gambling situation he added that the current situation could not continue. What one has to consider is the influence that Wilkie has as he is a prominent supporter of the current Aussie Prime Minister Julia Gillard during her rise to power. We just have to wait and see what is about to happen.