The nation’s communications watchdog will soon block access to illegal gambling websites hosted offshore. Australians spend up to $400m on the sites each year and often have difficulties recouping their winnings or deposits. The Australian Communications and Media Authority will investigate suspect sites and, if unable to take enforcement action, order internet providers to block them. The chair of Acma, Nerida O’Loughlin, said the new laws were a valuable additional weapon against illegal online gambling. “There is little to no recourse for consumers engaging with these unscrupulous operators,” O’Loughlin said on Monday. She said 65 illegal companies had left Australia since Acma began enforcing new rules against offshore sites in 2017. The communications minister, Paul Fletcher, said the sites accounted for about $100m in lost tax revenue each year. “Too often these offshore operators are defrauding Australians and their websites typically provide very few, if any, harm-minimisation controls,” Fletcher said. Acma’s new powers fulfil one of three legislative recommendations that came out of a 2015 review of interactive gambling. The review, overseen by former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell, made 19 recommendations to the government. It raised a number of problems with the sites, including a lack of Australian consumer protections, as well as links with organised crime.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is to begin blocking offshore online gambling sites they find suspicious. This follows complaints from Australian consumers, who spend $100m on illegal gambling sites annually and sometimes have difficulties regaining their winnings or deposits. Australian communications minister Paul Fletcher added that these illegal sites cost up to $400m in lost tax revenue a year. A review by ACMA in 2015 on these sites not only revealed a lack of consumer protection but also links with organised crime.