ACMA orders blocking of more illegal affiliate sites in Australia

The sites – Casino Australia Online, Pokies.bet, Pokiesman and Smart Pokies – were found to be in breach of Australian law on 21 August 2024. The affiliate sites were promoting illegal online gaming in Australia, which is a breach of the Interactive Gaming Act 2001.

This law prohibits the provision of services such as online casinos, online slot machines and live sports betting.

Sites can also be blocked if they offer online gaming without a valid Australian licence. ACMA has the power to block sites that advertise illegal or unlicensed gambling services.

ACMA began submitting requests to block sites in November 2019. Since then, it has blocked 1,026 sites linked to illegal gambling and affiliated services.

In addition, 220 services have left Australia since the rules against illegal offshore gambling sites began to be enforced.

“ACMA reminds consumers that even if a service appears to be legal, it is unlikely to provide important consumer protections,” ACMA said. “This means our laws will not help if something goes wrong, for example if a service refuses to pay out winnings.

Players can check whether a service is licensed to operate in Australia by checking our register.”

In recent months, the ACMA has also blocked the sites of Richard Casino and Wanted Win, which were flagged in July.

In June, sites including A Big Candy, Jackpoty and John Vegas Casino were blocked for breaching online gambling regulations. In May, similar sanctions were imposed on Jogi Casino, Dundee Slots, Lucky Hunter, Lucky Wins, Lukki Casino, Spin Fever, Clubhouse Casino and Winport Casino.

There have been recent reports that the Australian government is preparing to tighten its approach to gambling advertising, which could lead to a complete ban on online advertising, forcing even legal affiliates out of the market.

However, there are also discussions about extending the ban to TV and radio. While the government is considering a watered-down version of the 2023 TV and radio advertising ban proposal, lawmakers and campaigners are pushing for it to be fully implemented.

As an alternative, the government has proposed limiting adverts to two per hour before 10pm and banning them an hour before and after sporting events. However, this has sparked a campaign for a complete ban.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR) is leading the effort. It has organised an open letter with high-profile politicians including former prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and John Howard calling for a complete ban on all advertising. AGR has also become an activist shareholder in media companies Nine Entertainment and Seven West Media, calling for them to stop advertising gambling.

However, the government argues that the ban will have a negative impact on free-to-air TV channels. Minister Bill Shorten has said that banning gambling adverts will only undermine the networks, which are already "under attack" from digital media platforms. One think tank recently proposed a 2% tax on gambling revenue to offset the loss of broadcaster revenue, arguing that advertising could be replaced with adverts for food, fuel and banking services.