The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has addressed the country’s Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and urged them to suspend access to some more illegal offshore gambling platforms. The latest request of the communications and media regulator is for the Australian ISPs to block the Kings Chance Service.
After receiving numerous complaints about the gambling operator’s services and an investigation into the company, the ACMA found Kings Chance Service was violating the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
The communications and media watchdog of Australia ruled that the gambling operator has been illegally offering its services on the territory of the country, so it requested that local Internet Service Providers block access to the online gambling platforms that are being run by the brand.
The latest illegal gambling website blocking request comes only days after the ACMA appointed the technology provider Engine Australia as the one responsible to deliver the first national self-exclusion register for online gambling in Australia. As Casino Guardian reported at the time, the new self-exclusion platform will provide Australians with the opportunity to ban themselves from accessing the services of all gambling service operators. The self-exclusion would be available for a minimum of 3 months, with customers also able to choose a permanent self-ban.
Gambling Websites Blocking Part of ACMA’s Enforcement Actions
Website blocking is one of the types of enforcement actions that could be taken by the ACMA to protect local residents from accessing illegal online gambling services. It made its first blocking request in November 2019 and since then, more than 270 gambling websites that were found by the regulatory body to be operating illegally in the country have been blocked.
Since the ACMA started enforcing its new rules for illegal offshore gambling in 2017, more than 130 services have been pulled out of the country’s market.
As the communications and media regulator has explained, online gambling platforms blocking provides it with a chance to inform the wider public about illegal gambling services through special messages that appear when consumers make an attempt to access such a website.
Furthermore, the regulator also reminded Australian consumers that even if a certain service looks legitimate, it could still lack crucial customer protection, which basically means that local residents who place bets on websites offering illegal gambling services risk losing their money.
Earlier this year, the ACMA shared it remains focused on the enforcement and disruption of online casinos that are being illegally operated in the country and target local gamblers. Another problem, which the regulatory body has recognised, is the fact that such websites often do not reveal their ownership and that makes the investigation into their operations even more difficult and the identity of companies that stand behind them hard to trace.
- Author
Daniel Williams
