Recent reports from West Australia suggest the state government is considering taking steps towards the regulation of Australian online gambling if federal government doesn’t tighten oversight and enforcement of existing laws. This announcement is the result of a federal parliamentary inquiry into gambling, as carried out by the Western Australian Department of Gaming, Racing and Liquor.

The department has assessed that the state’s control on gambling has been undermined by the various flaws which have become apparent in the Interactive Gambling Act. Currently, websites are not permitted to offer real money casino and poker games to residents of Australia. The department has also claimed that no companies have been prosecuted in over 10 years, since before the ban was even introduced. It is also claimed that currently players are not prevented from accessing offshore sites.

Despite this, support for regulation in Western Australian will depend on allowing states to “opt out” and ban operators from allowing residents to gamble online.

Published by Bruce Parker of Australian Online Casinos.