Pokies On The Internet

The idea of gambling via the Internet first came about in 1995 when the first virtual casinos started to appear online. Most of these sites were located in places such as the Caribbean but by 1999 it looked like Australia might become one of the worlds biggest online gaming jurisdictions.

A BBC article from 1999 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/381815.stm) stated "Australia is determined to become the cyber casino capital of the world and has already set up its first fully regulated, government backed gambling Website". At the time it looked like Australian pokie players would have a whole new way to play - that was until mid 2000.

The Australian government introduced the Interactive Gambling Act of 2000 which changed the laws and restricted Australian online gambling sites from taking wagers from Australians. This act was valid for one year at which time the government introduced the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 which is still in operation today.

The details of the act are quite complex but in general it is targeted at the operators of online gambling businesses rather than players. There was a fully government licensed and regulated casino based in the Northern Territory of Australia - Lasseters. As they were online before the bill was passed they were allowed to stay online but not take bets from Australians however they closed in 2008.

One has to ask what was the purpose of the bill. Some claim it was to slow down the increasing amount of problem gamblers but this seems a little hypocritical when you consider that pokies are found in just about every pub and certainly in every sporting club.

Some say that the government did not want to lose the gambling revenues offshore but this also seems like a strange excuse as they could have easily regulated more Australian sites and therefore also shared in the additional income. One conflict of interest was brought up on the ABC's 7:30 Report (http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/stories/s255754.htm).

Probably one of the biggest impacts the IGA had relates to the ban on advertising interactive gambling services. Before 2000 it was common to see ads for well known internet casinos at major Australian portals. In recent times the sports betting companies have won the right to advertise their sports products but still cannot advertise or offer casino and poker to players in Australia.

So are Australians allowed to gamble online? According to the government web site outlining the bill, yes. Although they do put in the clause that the IGA does not override the laws of other jurisdictions. Having said that, you will not find games by Aristocrat online so if you are looking to play Queen of the Nile online you are out of luck. We have seen some IGT games online but Australian players cannot play as the casinos have banned Australians.

When we look back at the history of gambling in Australia and the history of pokies in particular there were over 50 years where the games were able to be found but were prohibited. In 1956 the government finally realized that they stood to make billions if they legalized them and regulated their use. Surely at some point in the next 50 years the same will happen with online pokies. Until then pokie players will either have to play at offshore online casinos or stick to the games at the pubs, clubs and casinos.

Interactive Gambling Act at ComLaw.gov.au

Side Note : The above article is a commentary on Internet Gambling in Australia and should not be considered as legal advice. If you do choose to play online you should investigate further.

» Pokies Online