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The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has continued its crackdown on the flourishing illegal iGaming industry in Australia. While sports betting and online lottery games are permitted down under, online gambling is banned. This has not stopped offshore iGaming operators from targeting Aussies who love to play online pokies and jackpot games.
The Australia watchdog has specifically named Ozwin Casino, Bao Casino, Reels of Joy and Pokie Place. One of the reasons why the ACMA decided to launch a new crackdown on the illegal iGaming industry was because there was an increase in the number of complaints against offshore gaming sites.
All of these illegal iGaming sites are in breach of the 2001 Interactive Gambling Act (IGA). While the Australian watchdog has listed the names of a few sites, there are still loads of illegal offshore gaming sites that continue to target Aussie players.
This is not the first time that the Australian watchdog is going after illegal gaming sites and it certainly will not be the last time. When Australia banned online gambling in 2017, the ACMA banned 130 illegal gaming sites. That ban did discourage offshore gaming operators for a bit but shortly thereafter more iGaming sites flooded the market.
The ACMA did another clean up act in 2019 when it closed 263 illegal iGaming sites in November 2019. This was a big crackdown and once again it cleaned up the market for a short time period but offshore gaming operators were back with new domains and new casinos. The ACMA blocked another 18 illegal sites in Feb 2021 but knows there are still a number of iGaming sites that continue to evade the authorities.
ISPs Asked To Block Illegal Sites
The ACMA has called on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country to block these illegal gaming sites. The blacklist of illegal offshore gaming operators continues to grow in Australia. The public has been warned that when they access the domain of a blacklisted site, they will immediately see a pop-up notice warning them that this site is blocked in Australia.
The ACMA has also sent out another general warning to the Australian public informing them of the dangers of gambling at illegal iGaming sites. Aussies were warned that a number of illegal gaming sites steal their player’s personal and financial data and some of them do not pay out player winnings.
