Online Poker Banned In Australia
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Online poker players in Australia have received a brief reprieve from the pending implementation of new interactive gambling measures that would effectively ban the game throughout the country. And, amid debate over the secondary issues the looming ban would bring to the country, pro-poker activists have succeeded in gaining Parliament support, to the point of one Australian senator introducing a secondary amendment that would create carveouts for online poker and online blackjack under the new rules.
Those rules, collectively known as the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016, are poised to officially ban virtually all online gambling in Australia except for sports wagering. In the face of the looming ban, several international operators have either stoppedserving Aussie gamblers or plan to do so immediately upon the ban taking effect. 888Poker and Vera & John are two of the online operators who have already exited the Australian market.
Online Poker has been banned in Australia since 2017 and has completely failed. Help repeal the ban by signing a petition at online-poker-Australia.com. Many were ready to pronounce online poker dead in Australia with last year’s passing of an anti-gambling bill, but things seem to have taken an unexpected turn for the better: The Stars Group acquired the Aussie sports betting site CrownBet for over $100 million; and recently, under their new leadership CrownBet bought the Australian branch of William Hill. A new bill to tighten restrictions on offshore operators that operate online gambling services in Australia has been unveiled by the federal government.
There’s still a chance, though, however thin it might be, that a poker carveout could be inserted prior to final passage. As part of the efforts of the newly formed Australian Online Poker Alliance (AOPA), player Joseph Del Duca has led a grassroots effort to contact senators and MPs about the looming ban. The group championed by Del Duca has organized a daily action plan modeled after that created in the US by Poker Players Alliance VP Rich Muny, with Del Duca’s daily versions offering contact info for various Aussie legislators.
The home of the Aussie Millions faces a big blow, similar to America’s “Black Friday” back in 2011. On March 21st the Australian Senate returned the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016 to the House of Representatives after voting 46-6 against an amendment that would grant exceptions to online poker from the new restrictions.
Among those backing the AOPA cause is Senator David Leyonhjelm of the Liberal Democratic Party. Leyonhjelm recently introduced an amendment (Sheet 8054) which would carve out poker and blackjack from the new rules. The amendment is simple enough, working by inserting the phrase “casino-style poker or blackjack gambling service” in several places within the bill that reference the types of online gambling services allowable under the new rules.
However, Leyonhjelm’s LDP is a tiny minority party in Australia, posing an obvious barrier to his amendment’s prospects. Leyonhjelm himself is the LDP’s only Senator, among 76 such seats. While Del Duca reports numerous other legislators also responding warmly to the push for a carveout, it remains to be seen how that translates into real support when the final ratification vote occurs.
Because of all the delays and proposed amendments (six), the mandatory second reading for the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016 won’t be completed until March 20th at the earliest. The extra four weeks give the AOPA and Aussie online players another brief window in which to continue pushing their cause, and preventing what was always a “grey area” game from being added to an officially banned list of activities.
The AOPA has also created a GoFundMe page, seeking to gather donations to cover the day-to-day expenses incurred by Del Duca in traveling to the Parliament in person to lobby the country’s legislators. At last check, the group’s GoFundMe page had collected $2,536, a little over halfway to its very modest $5,000 goal. Several well-known Australian players are among those already having contributed to the fund, including Jackie Glazier, James Obst, David Yan, and Jonathan Karamalikis.
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On March 21st, the Australian Sentate passed the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill (2016), meaning online wagering on live sporting events is now one short step away from being illegal. However, a range of other online gambling products have also been included in the bill, most noticeably poker.
Furthermore, while the bill states that online poker operators can only offer their products having first obtained an official license, there is currently no such regulatory process in place, thus leaving online poker companies with no other option but to exit the country, or else face hefty fines.
Australia has a thriving gambling industry estimated to be worth around $20 billion per annum, with online gambling its fastest-growing sector. Following the country’s Senate approving the bill, with the House of Representatives expected to swiftly do likewise, Australian poker players are now faced with their own Black-Friday scenario, just like the one their American counterparts did back in 2011.
There are further motivations for operator to adhere to the law, too, as anyone found flaunting the rules will likely be shut out of any future regulated Australian online poker market should it ever become regulated. While this led 888Poker to take the precaution of withdrawing its product in January, PokerStars has remained thus far, but is now likely to soon follow suit. Commenting on the dramatic development, a company representative stated:
“We have serviced the Australian poker community for many years, and although it will come as scant consolation for some real money players living there, should the bill pass we will continue to offer free to play products within the jurisdiction. We remain dedicated to growing the game of poker.”
Of course, this will be of no consolation for the country’s legion of professional players who rely on the game to for a living, including the likes of mjw006, Deanuzz, and Jonathan “xMONSTERxDONGx” Karamalikis. Last year, Jackie Glazier, too, signed a sponsorship deal with partypoker which now seems shakier than ever, and has subsequently tweeted a message expressing how devastated she was over the dramatic news.