What is happening in Australia?

[Topboss]

I received an email today from My Aff Manager at Aff Club telling me to remove all Australian links, as she said there has been some legal developments there. She did not go into detail but simply said they can no longer accept any Australian traffic.

Does anyone know what is going on there? Has something changed? I know they don't allow Australians to play Aristocrat etc but this is playtech I am talking about...

[lots0]

Odd, I don't see any news about any changes.

No one has contacted me about my Oz facing site.

I wonder what the deal is?

[Topboss]

I have been thinking about it all day and chatting with a few other guys, and the general feeling is that it may have something to do with the Party/ Bwin merger and nothing to do with a legal change in Australia..... Maybe Renee can throw some light on it when she is up and about....

[Renee]

I haven't heard anything about this... and after searching all the main news sites I can't find anything either.

The most obvious thing that would come to mind is if the company is a public company, but this is not something recent. Perhaps it is a playtech thing?
I know places like bet365 and centrebet cant take Aussie players at their casinos, but I think thats because they are public companies.

Unless they are planning to open shop in Australia?

Your guess is as good as mine here.

[faststeady]

most pull out of australian market when they are looking to buy one of our books (happened a lot in sportsbetting)

[Renee]

That doesn't make sense though? It's legal for bookies in Oz, as long as they have a license. And if they have a license is when they can't take casino players (because it's obviously illegal to take a bet from an aussie).

I should probably note that in my last post i should have said they have a license, not public company.

Edit: I correct myself. You are right. If they are buying a bookie and getting a license then they wouldn't be able to take Aussie casino players anymore.
Had a small brain fart.

[theGman]

William Hill also pulled out some time ago did they not, they are also a publicly listed company and were going after a Nevada licence at the time. My guess is it has to do with that and not operating in countries where the situation is either grey or illegal.

My guess is that Bwin / Party are targeting a Nevada license or wanting to operate in the states and to do so they need to tie up all loose ends.

[faststeady]

actually thats probably more correct, as 188bet for example pulled out of aust market and wouldnt buy in , so makes sense gman

[vinism]

This is all about licensing. Since the Aussie online casino market is considered grey/black (depending on whom you ask), when companies apply for licenses in more restrictive jurisdictions, they get questioned about their Australian operations. So the companies pull out of Australia because it's easier -- especially if they view the license in restricted jurisdiction as more valuable or lucrative.

[TheGooner]

This is all about licensing. Since the Aussie online casino market is considered grey/black (depending on whom you ask),

It's not grey/black ... it's pretty clear that taking short duration online bets from Australian players is illegal.
Short duration bets are considered addictive - and so ALL online casino, ALL online poker and IN-PLAY sports betting is not allowed.

Advertising of these services to Australian players is also illegal.

However, unlike the other governments, the Australian government does not chase offenders beyond their borders.

So it only becomes an issue when these companies decide that they want a legal Australian license for sports betting - then they have to show that they are complying with all facets of Australian online gaming legislation.

[playmaker003]

Sports betting is the onluy legal form of online gambling in Australia.

Promotion of other online casino/gambling is illegal by any company. Although illegal it is not policed very well yet. I wouldnt build a long term strategy focusing on casino in the AU market until it is legilized.

[Muppet]

It's not grey/black ... it's pretty clear that taking short duration online bets from Australian players is illegal.
Short duration bets are considered addictive - and so ALL online casino, ALL online poker and IN-PLAY sports betting is not allowed.

In-play sports betting is legal as long as it is done over the phone, but not on the internet. Thats why you can't watch a game of anything anymore without being bombarded and annoyed by ads for the current odds and the phone number of the bookie.

[TheGooner]

Yes - we were talking about online play ... but I should have stated IN-PLAY online sports betting for completeness.

Similarly you can play the physical pokies at a pub or club and apparently that is OK ...
But the same thing is not allowed online.

Just like the US - there seems to be a mindset that online = bad ??!