The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has busted an illegal casino-style gambling platform linked to millions of dollars by ordering local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to suspend the website.
The country’s media regulatory body moved to crack down on the online gambling platform after receiving a large number of complaints about the website, called thepokies.net, earlier in 2022. Many users complained about losing large amounts of money while gambling on the platform or not receiving their winnings after hitting jackpots.
The website offers casino and pub-style simulators of poker machines, also known as pokies, in various games, including Gates of Olympus, Sweet Bonanza, and Raptor Doublemax. Reportedly, it used to attract about 30,000 customers originating from Australia on a monthly basis.
Nerida O’Loughlin, chair of the regulator, shared that the ACMA had received a bigger number of complaints about thepokies.net in 2022 than any other illegal online gambling platform. She further noted that the website was clearly doing much harm to the Australian community, so the media watchdog had to act.
According to a statement from the Australian Communications and Media Authority, thepokies.net is one of the most significant illegal gambling websites that have been busted since the regulator started exercising its enhanced powers and started ordering site shutdowns in 2019. So far, the regulatory body ordered local ISPs to ban approximately 500 illegal online gambling platforms since gaining the power to suspend websites.
More Than 500 Illegal Online Gambling Websites Banned by Australian ISPs Since 2019
Currently, casino-style gambling games, including games based on blackjack, roulette, poker machines, and scratchcards, are suspended in Australia.
A large number of online casinos still target Australian customers although they risk facing a massive, AU$1.1-million fine that is usually imposed on online gambling service providers that operate without the necessary licence. According to estimates, local people spend no less than AU$400 million on online gambling on an annual basis.
The ACMA has revealed that, since 2017, about 100 offshore online gambling operators that have been offering their services illegally in Australia have exited the local market. However, there is a tendency for such operators and gambling platforms to pull out their services from a certain market and then reappear under different branding – a process that has been hard for the regulatory body to control. Unfortunately, suspending illegal online gambling service providers does not always prevent many of them from springing up several days later under different names and branding.
Reportedly, the thepokies.net platform already seems to be available under a different domain name.
Previously, the website had been given a 2 out of 5 score by a platform providing online gambling reviews. It was listed as an “unlicensed site” with “no customer service”, which listed “pirate games”.
Online gambling has proliferated during the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns associated with it. According to a report issued by the Australian Gambling Research Centre, 1 in 20 people started gambling online during the first coronavirus lockdown, with young men in the 18-34 age group being the ones most likely to have picked up the habit.
The media regulator of Australia further revealed that the number of people who reported gambling online rose from 8% in 2020 to 11% in 2021.
- Author
Olivia Cole
