In other news, I received an email From Andrew Verdon. Apologies for the poor formatting as i have copied and pasted directly from a PDF. this has some promising language in it in the reform section.
Dear Mr "Deyweresooted"
Online Poker
Thank you for your email dated 16 April 2019, to the former Minister for Communications and the Arts, Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield MP concerning online poker. Your correspondence has been referred to the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts as he has portfolio responsibility for the matter you raised. I am responding on behalf of the Minister and I apologise for the delay in responding to you.
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Online poker has never been formally permitted in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (the IGA) which makes it an offence to provide or advertise prohibited interactive gambling services or unlicensed regulated interactive gambling services to customers in Australia.
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Since the IGA's inception in 2001, prohibited services have included online casino-style gaming services of chance or mixed skill and chance, including blackjack, poker machines and poker, which are played for money or anything else of value. The intent of the IGA is to minimise the scope of problem gambling in Australia,
This is why there have never been any Australian licensed providers of online poker. However, Australians have until recently been able to access overseas based online poker sites as the IGA was ambiguous about the legality of providing such services to Australians.
In 2015 the Government commissioned a Review of Illegal Offshore Wagering, conducted by the Hon Barry O'Farrell (the O'Farrell Review). The O'Farrell Review found that up to $400 million is spent by Australians on illegal offshore gambling providers each year. This presents several problems:
Greater risk for consumers because legal protections are not in place and standard consumer protections are often absent. Less tax revenue for governments, less product and other fees for the racing and sports industries, and fewer jobs for Australians. Some illegal offshore gambling sites are connected to crime syndicates.
The amendments to the IGA came into effect on 13 September 2017 and implement a number of the Review's recommendations to strengthen the enforcement of the IGA. The amendments will uphold the original intent of the IGA and will:
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Make it clear that it is illegal for overseas gambling companies to offer permitted gambling products to Australians unless the person or company holds a licence under the law of an Australian State or Territory. . Empower the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) with new civil penalties, complementing the existing criminal penalties powers held by the Australian Federal Police. The ACMA will be responsible for the entire complaint handling process from receipt to enforcement. Introduce other disruption measures to curb illegal offshore gambling activity, such as placing company directors or principals of offending gambling companies on the Movement Alert List so that travel to Australia can be disrupted.
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The Government's online wagering reforms, including the National Consumer Protection Framework which was announced on 30 November 2018, will significantly strengthen the consumer protections covering online gambling activity. I expect this will strengthen the case for reforms that would expand the permitted online services to enable online poker services to operate within Australia. The Government will continue to carefully consider this matter.
Senate Inquiry into Online Poker
As you note in your email, on 13 June 2017, it was announced that the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee will conduct an inquiry in relation to online poker. Matters which were examined were:
the participation of Australians in online poker;
the nature and extent of any personal or social harms and benefits arising from participating in online poker;
and whether the current regulatory approach, in particular the IGA and the Bill, is a reasonable and proportionate response to those harms and benefits.
The Inquiry received 266 submissions and 29 short statements. The Committee's final report was tabled in Parliament on 18 October 2017. The Government is currently considering the recommendations made under this report and will respond in due course.
For information on the inquiry including the final report and its recommendations, please visit the Parliament of Australia website at:
www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary Business/Committees Senate/Environment and Communications/ Online Poker.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Verdon
Director Online Gambling Section