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Australia is set to become the latest nation to crack down on an Internet gambling sector estimated to be worth upwards of $10 billion ($1.4 billion of which can be made in Australia).
The Sydney Morning Herald reported Thursday that a working group targeting unregulated Web betting firms will be formed as part of the government’s gambling industry advisory council. Premier Denis Napthine and federal Minister for Social Services Kevin Andrews will be assigned to oversee the council.
The group will work on ways to eradicate rogue operators from targeting Aussie citizens while requiring local Internet Service Providers to block access to said websites.
That, however, has been tried in the past and met with much protest.
Circa 2009: Australia's then Communications Director, Stephen Conroy was named "Internet Villain of the Year" during the 11th annual Internet industry awards in the UK for his crusade against Internet Service Providers.
That year, Conroy failed miserably in his efforts to censor a broad range of Website themes under the guise of “child welfare”. His censorship policy extended to include material found on websites depicting drug use, crime, sex, cruelty, violence or "revolting and abhorrent phenomena" that "offended against the standards of morality".
The resulting blacklist contained websites for a Queensland dentist, an Australian tour group, a boarding kennel and even the Wikileaks site.
More recent attempts at censorship include last year’s blocking of an IP address used by some 1200 websites including the Melbourne Free University, which discovered it was among the sites being blocked.
Officials in Australia fear Internet gambling operators will seek to set up shop offshore in order to avoid taxation while stealing away revenue streams for the nation.
"There are already Australian-headquartered organisations that are operating in this way by basing their betting operations in unregulated international jurisdictions. including in the Pacific and Asia regions," Andrews said.
"[And] there are significant numbers of illegitimate offshore operators already targeting Australian racing and sport and it is vital that an effective regulatory regime be introduced to address the serious integrity and revenue risks that they pose."
"It is unfair that legitimate Australian-based and registered bookmakers pay the product fee required of them by racing and sports bodies while offshore bookmakers effectively pirate Australian product," Dr Napthine added.
The wagering industry has been lobbying government to crack down on offshore gambling, which is estimated to be worth up to 14 per cent of the $10 billion annual online wagering market.
Legal Australian gambling sites like Casino Midas Australia, are still excellent options for avid Australian gamblers and casino fans.
"Unlicensed offshore operators are not regulated to Australian standards. There are significant risks to consumers in terms of inadequate protection, as well as to the integrity of sport and racing," Ms Dwyer said.
- Alejandro Botticelli, Gambling911.com
