Australian Gambling Laws

Australian Gambling Laws are the laws that govern real money gambling in Oz. All real money player need to have basic knowledge about the laws. You see the thing that we Australians love to gamble and it’s no crime since a little fun never killed anyone.

But just to put any negative thoughts about Aussies and gambling at peace, let’s take a brief look at the Australian Gambling Laws.

Who Controls Gambling Laws?

There are several bodies that regulate the online casino gambling laws in Australia. Namely, they are:

1. ACT Gambling and Racing Commission- Australian Capital Territory
2. Licensing Commission-Northern Territory
3. Office of Liquor, Gaming, and Racing- New South Wales
4. Independent Gambling Authority- South Australia
5. Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation- Queensland
6. Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation- Victoria
7. Department of Racing, Gaming, and Liquor- Western Australia
8. Tasmanian Gaming Commission- Tasmania
9. Australian Broadcasting Authority- In charge of all gambling complaints in the whole of Australia.

Interactive Gambling Act of 2001

The act was passed by the Australian Commonwealth Parliament in 2001. The act was aimed at addressing all online operators in the gambling field, casino and sports betting alike.

With this Act, the Government hoped to protect all the residents of Oz from fraudulent online operators.

This worked, but part of the act prohibited online operators outside the country from offering Aussies real money rewards. The act also crossed out all adverts relating to real money internet based games in all forms of media.

The fine for breaking this law was set at AU$220,000 a day for general gamblers and for companies it was AU1.1 million.

The act, however, did not touch sports betting. And all those based in Australia could still offer their services to other nations listed as a designated country.

Lotteries that operated on the internet were still allowed to operate under the condition that they had a valid license and did not offer online scratch-off cards.

Initially, the government had planned on abolishing in-play sports betting. This was not effective as the act had several loopholes that allowed those already licensed to continue offering their services.

Interactive Gambling Bill of 2016

The Bill was proposed in 2016 and passed by the Australian Senate in 2017. It was an amendment of the 2001 Gambling Act.

The Bill cut deep in the Aussie gambling industry and since its passing; several players in online gambling have since withdrawn.

The law comprised of several key matters that affected online gambling in Oz. a few those matters that the Bill touched base on were as follows:

1. Banning all forms of gaming that are not legal in Australia. Basically, this would include all activities save for online sports betting.
2. All gambling adverts would be forbidden during live sports events.
3. All gambling operators that were based outside Australia would not be permitted to offer services to the Australians unless they had a license. Those who broke this law would have their IP addresses blocked and blacklisted.
4. Bettors would not be allowed to wager on a live sports This was meant to combat the gambling addiction.

Conclusion

Australian Gambling Laws are there for both the gamblers and the gambling sites. With the laws, you know where to turn juts in case something wrong. The best part about Australian Gambling Laws is there there are different governing bodies for each of the provinces in the nation. This then makes the laws easier to understand and follow.

Australian Gambling Laws FAQs