The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has published a report summarising the results of an investigation into unlicensed offshore gambling websites. The probe focused on the timeframe of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and ACMA investigated a total of 200 gambling operators. According to the findings, 21 services were selected on suspicion of illegally targeting Australian bettors. In total, 18 of them were found to have, indeed, offered their services to Australians despite lacking a licence and thus failed to adhere to Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
ACMA issued warnings to all 18 operators, and three responded by voluntarily implementing measures that guaranteed Australians would no longer be able to visit or use their websites. The rest failed to take any actions to ensure compliance with the rules, however, which forced ACMA to request that they be blocked by Australian internet service providers (ISPs).
According to Carolyn Lidgerwood, Authority Member at ACMA, none of the illegal services had the authorisation to offer sports betting to Australians. What is more, there were also some that operated remote casinos and gave Aussie users the opportunity to play slot games or partake in live betting, i.e., wager on the outcome of a given match while it was underway. These services, Ms Lidgerwood stressed, are all prohibited according to Australian law. She continued, claiming that popular sporting events serve as opportunities that operators “take advantage of” to target sports fans.
Ms Lidgerwood also warned that clients who wager by using unauthorised gambling websites are not safeguarded by the consumer protections of licensed Australian businesses. Furthermore, bettors also risk never receiving their money, even if they win.
The Online Gambling Black Market is a Global Issue
The battle against illegal offshore gambling websites seems to be never-ending, not just in Australia but in many other jurisdictions across the world. In the UK, for instance, one of the key proposals included in the Government’s Gambling White Paper has to do with providing the Gambling Commission with further regulatory powers that would allow it to demand, through court orders, that ISPs block UK residents from accessing unlicensed gambling websites. Ireland’s Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 is also set to give the not-yet-established Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland the authorisation to request the blockage of illegitimate gambling services.
Of course, the duties of gambling regulators and entities like ACMA encompass far more than the aforementioned functions. Last year, for instance, ACMA fined the Seven Network Operations LTD company for showing viewers a gambling ad in the live stream footage of an NFL American Football match shown on the 7plus TV service at 10:38am. In addition, just this week, Victoria’s gambling watchdog held sports betting operator BlueBet accountable for advertising gambling on billboards positioned on or above public roads. As a result, BlueBet was forced to pay AU$50,000 in financial penalties for breaching Australia’s gambling ad regulations.
- Author
Daniel Williams
