On November 17th, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) requested the country’s Internet service providers (ISPs) to suspend two offshore lottery platforms that have been illegally operating in Australia – Red Fox Lotton and We Love Lotto.
As revealed by Fiona Cameron, a member of the ACMA, the platforms would become the first lottery websites blocked in Australia, after an investigation of the Communications and Media Authority found the aforementioned websites offer tickets in major foreign online lotteries while at the same time operating their services without a licence in Australia. Currently, this is not permitted under the provisions of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
Ms Cameron explained that the Australian Communications and Media Authority found that Red Fox Lotto and We Love Lotto had both been operating illegally on the territory of the country, meaning they had no consumer safeguards in place to make sure players are protected against possible negative effects of gambling.
She noted that the actions of blocking offshore websites that operate illegally in Australia are a prerogative aimed at protecting Australians from potentially deceitful operators that are able to hardly protect their customers if things go wrong. On the other hand, Ms Cameron explained that the lottery services that are being offered under an operating permit in the country provide the required safeguards to protect their consumers.
The Regulator Targeted to Block 55 Illegal Gambling Websites in 2020/2021 Financial Year
While this is the first time when lottery services are suspended by the ACMA so far, the Australian government statutory authority has been requesting local Internet service providers block various casino-style gambling platforms for two years now.
According to a report that was published on November 17th, the ACMA targeted 55 services for website blocking in the 2020/2021 financial year. The Authority’s actions resulted in a significant decline of no less than 90% in the number of Australian visitors to such platforms. Ms Cameron said that all members of the ACMA had been pleased with the outcome, as the results showed that the steps taken by the Authority to tackle illegal online gambling services in Australia had had a positive effect so far.
Currently, the ACMA is one of the bodies responsible for enforcing the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. In the 2020/2021 financial year, one of the major compliance priorities that the Authority focused on was cutting access to the illegal online casinos that target Australian residents. As the ACMA revealed in its report, its activity has been directed at a total of 56 offshore casinos that have been operating illegally in the country and have been causing the greatest harm to the local community.
The ACMA investigations found that the control of these offshore digital casinos is usually run by only a small number of operators, so the regulatory body undertook a strategic approach to cause as much disruption to such gambling companies as possible.
- Author
Daniel Williams
