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Australia Spending on Online Gambling Reaches $1 billion Mark

Posted on March 16th, 2011

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States in the US which are contemplating the legalization of online poker can take a page or two from Australia, or least the companies that operate there, regulated or not. Recently published earnings data showed that online gambling spending from Australia alone have reached the $1 billion mark annually and is only expected to continue growing. Multiple forms of online gambling such as wagering – as in betting on horses, dog races, and sporting events, and actual casino gaming – as in poker, slot machines and other forms of virtual casino gaming, are fuelling the increase in punters and heavy betters who take to the net to satisfy their gambling wants instead of running to a casino 60 miles away.

The recent explosion in gambling numbers have caused more than a few legislators and civic groups to be wary of the gambling trend and calls to regulate online gambling are starting to gain steam. People fear that many Australians are going out of the country’s borders to bet on potentially “unsafe” overseas sites and not those regulated and checked by a sanctioned government agency. A federal law in 2001 banned the “provision of online gaming services to customers in Australia” but this does not include prohibitions for Australians from accessing signs operated out of foreign countries. As a result, the federal law has not done anything to limit online gaming; instead, it has seemed to encourage it.

Sally Gainsbury of the Southern Cross University Center for Gambling Education and Research agrees with this assessment. She said, “…more and more Australians are playing on sites owned by companies in Malta, Gibraltar, Canada, the Isle of Man, and many other.” Adds Dr. Gainsbury, “Prohibition has not been very effective. We know that 30 percent of Australians over 16 have gambled online, investing about $1 billion in 2010; and that’s probably an underestimate.”Centrecare, a counselling company, also agreed with this assessment. Centrecare Executive Manager Rod West, added that “Gambling online is beginning to increase.” He also remarked that the improved accessibility and increased awareness of online gambling was having an impact, particularly on young gamblers.

A report released by the Productivity Commission indicated that laws resulted to “driving consumers to international sites” which, as the report would have it, may not entirely be as safe as those sanctioned by the country. The report further adds that in line with the trend, regulation would be a good idea in order to tap into the idustry. “Regulated access to domestic or licensed overseas online providers – rather than prohibition – has potential benefits. It could achieve many of the benefits of online gambling to consumers, while diverting consumers away from unsafe sites to ones that met stringent probity and consumer safety standards – thus reducing the risks of harm to online gamblers.”,, the report added.

In summary, the report said “A gradual approach to managed liberalisation that began with a relatively safe form of online gambling – poker card games – would be appropriate.” More than a few U.S. states are contemplating the same move but the Federal Government does not share the view. Still, while the Federal Government has not shown any support to liberalizing online casino gambling, it will seek steps to examine the approach taken by other countries to online gaming, particularly from a regulatory perspective. The growth seen in Australia is no doubt a sign of the pervasiveness of gambling as a busines. WA Racing and Gaming Minister Terry Waldron indicated this can pose a concern for legislators who have shown a strong opposition to gambling.

On the other end are lobbyists and gambling supporters like John Beagle, a former president of the Australian Casino Association, who said online poker required an element of skill and not purely reliant on chance implying it is a game that is best done within Australia’s borders and not abroad. He adds it is ludicrous to have enthusiasts having to play on sites based outside the country because of the lack of laws implemented, consequently sending millions of dollars outside the country.