Commonwealth of Australia
Australia bans online casino and online poker under the federal Interactive Gambling Act 2001, but supports a large licensed online sports-betting and racing market run through state and territory licences, with corporate bookmakers concentrated in the Northern Territory. The ACMA enforces the federal ban, including website blocking of illegal offshore operators. Licensed betting is taxed through state point-of-consumption taxes, commonly around 15% of net wagering revenue.
The policy debate centres on advertising restrictions and harm-minimisation for the permitted betting vertical, and on the durability of the online-casino prohibition against a persistent offshore grey market. Watch proposals on gambling advertising and any move on the point-of-consumption tax rates.
Tabcorp has signed a binding scheme of arrangement for the wagering technology group it walked away from in February, and it is paying a 41% premium to get it. The price of the delay is written into the terms.
The media regulator has asked internet providers to block a further 12 offshore gambling and affiliate sites, two of them impersonating licensed Australian brands. The action lifts the running total to 1,751 sites blocked since 2019.
Ryan Comstock has the top job at Ainsworth on a permanent basis. He inherits a business navigating a contested ownership structure, a mixed financial performance and intense pressure from competing major shareholders.
Australia's gambling regulator has handed Chasebet a formal warning for self-exclusion promotion failures, while simultaneously moving against 19 more unlicensed operators in an ongoing crackdown on the illegal market.
As the dust settles on the aborted merger between Tabcorp and BetMakers, the industry is left to wonder if the Australian giant can successfully navigate its digital transformation alone or if another tech savvy target is already in its sights.
The Star Entertainment Group is set to ax its corporate head office and eliminate hundreds of roles in a radical decentralisation plan. New CEO Bruce Mathieson Jr told staff the current structure added complexity rather than value. The move follows a A$300 million rescue deal by Bally’s and the Mathieson family aimed at satisfying regulators and securing the company’s future.
A senior Labor backbencher has claimed that a legislative ban on gambling advertising would likely pass through the Australian Parliament immediately if MPs
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has ordered internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to nine additional illegal gambling and
Nine Entertainment, a major Australia media firm, warns it will seek compensation if the Albanese government implements the Murphy report's gambling ad ban.
Australian Communications and Media Authority
ICLG (International Comparative Legal Guides)