Doubtful anything has happened.

I would assume that sites like party and stars have tried lobbying behind the scenes but to no avail. A segregated Australian market would likely be very profitable for them.

Hi all,

Haven't looked up anything regarding online poker in Australia since the government banned it for us. But now Labor are in government, is there is chance that the Gambling Amendment Bill could be scrapped so we can finally play online again? It is utterly ridiculous that online poker is banned yet sports betting is legal and is a MUCH bigger problem than poker. Not only that but we get betting ads rammed down our throat all over tv and social media.

You can still play online in Australia, some sites do offer it and there are ways to play on most of them still.... but I can't see it changing any time soon, unfortunately

Simply put no - the clubs are more in Labor's pocket than they are the Liberals and they are addicted to the poker machine taxes. So anything that takes away from poker machine revenue which bringing back online poker would do is not something they would support.

FYI: I merged the new thread into the existing thread on Online Poker in Australia.

From what Joey told me a few months ago when we last chatted, the change of government doesn't really mean a positive or a negative change to the chances of getting online poker legislation passed, as far as I can tell both majors generally support it, but there is no appetite on either side to actually legislate with any urgency whatsoever

People are playing online in Aus easily enough anyway it's just dumb that the government isn't taking steps to pass sensible legislation

Like to say thanks for the constant updates lads, Looks unlikely we will ever play WCOOP or SCOOP unless we move overseas. Has anyone message stars about helping us out or getting a AUS gambling license through Sports Bet or Crown?- Hopefully one day in my life time it will be back, doubt it but always hope.

For anyone interested, the Government is having an inquiry into “online gambling and its impacts on problem gamblers” and is currently taking submissions.
(https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary...ts/Submissions)

Though not precisely relevant, there is already a submission (No. 6) about regulating online poker.

I don’t know how we can use the inquiry to our advantage, but I will be making a submission related to “the effectiveness of protections against illegal online gambling services”. In particular, I will be focussing on the ineffectiveness of the ACMA. Terms of reference can be found here, https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary...s_of_Reference.

It think it would be helpful if others were to make submission(s) to the inquiry on how regulation is better than prohibition, and that the "everyone" knows prohibition doesn't work. Also, I believe there are articles online on how there are issues with prohibition in Euro countries that have tried to block offshore websites.

I actually did this the other week... no reply.

Damn, submission 6 "My recommendation to minimise harm to problem gamblers is to allow online poker but introduce a daily deposit limit of $10 which is much less than the $1,000 daily limit at the casino."

Probably written by a pensioner with too much time on his hands.

Edit: having read it says he is 61

Submissions to the Inquiry into "online gambling and its impacts on problem gamblers" have closed.

You might find the following submissions interesting:

• Sub 88 - Sports Poker Group Pty Ltd
  - It's about "Sports Poker™"
  
• Sub 81 - Sportsbet (Our PokerStars/Flutter friends)
  - A Statment from their submissions, "According to the National 2019-20 National Interactive Gambling Study, 47.3% of problem/at-risk gamblers reported that land-based gambling was their most problematic mode and interactive gamblers experiencing gambling-related harm most commonly nominated EGMs (27.5%) as their most harmful gambling form, followed by race betting (17.1%), sports betting (15.3%) or lotteries (13.9%)".
  
• Sub 61 – Entain
  - Entain believes the current level of government regulation, combined with the industry's commitment to innovation and self-regulation, is appropriate". "Entain considers it important to strike the right balance between freedom of choice, a positive customer experience, individual responsibility and appropriate and tailored safeguards to minimise gambling-related harm"
  
• Sub 60 - Interactive Games & Entertainment Association. "
  

Tipping we're dead in the water, never going to happen!!

I wanted to check if there have been any recent updates regarding the legislation of online poker in Australia. It's been a while since i last heard anything about it, and I am curious is any progress has been made over the past year?
By the way, what is the loophole that allows Australian players to play on GGpoker despite blocking access to people from Australia?
Cheers

No nothing and don't expect anything either with Labor in and their ties with the clubs and the poker machine industry. We are ok to play live poker in clubs but only because it draws us into play the pokies and most of us given the degenerate nature of some of us can't hold back. The government and clubs really have us by the balls in terms of getting money from us.

Interested to know has there been any friendly parties to our cause eg liberal democrats or the like ?

There was a recommendation by a parliamentary committee this week of banning sports gambling ads on TV- this again has detrimental effects on online poker returning to this country.

Yeah that won’t help our cause at all.
One of the more annoying parts of the bill is a provider is allowed to operate if they have a dedicated broadcast link.
Does that mean ok tab and Sportsbet can do as they please if they have a link to the races or go for it play poker online but make sure it has a link to a broadcast