Australian Gambling Laws – Archaic, Pointless And Redundant
Australian Gambling Laws
Today we thought we’d have a look at the online Australian gambling laws that affect the casino industry, both online and offline, across the antipodes. We want to see how these laws are in use to regulate the online and offline gambling industry. We’ve also taken a look at the history of gambling in Australia in order to see how it developed over the years. The laws that affect gambling and Australia are relevant to each state, which has its own regulator. They have the task of making legislation that affects gambling establishments and their customers. As with almost every country around the world, gambling is a very popular pastime. In fact, an astounding 80% of all adults regularly make bets. This puts Australia at one of the highest gambling rates amongst world citizens, even above countries like China.
Australian Gambling Laws State Regulators
It was back in the 1800s when horse racing first took place that gambling started its journey towards mass popularity. Only many years later did regulations come into force. We’ve compiled a list that shows the eight Australian states, along with the gambling regulator. The right to release, invoke and apply for licences, as well as being able to inspect gambling establishments and their financial backgrounds, is the responsibility of each of these regulators:
- Queensland: Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation
- Northern Territory: the NTRC
- Victoria: Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation and the Department of Justice and Community Safety
- New South Wales: Liquor and Gaming New South Wales
- Australian Capital Territory: ACT Gambling and Racing Commission
- Western Australia: Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries
- South Australia: the Consumer and Business Services Department
- Tasmania: Liquor and Gaming Commission
The regulator also ensures that all taxes are applied. Keep in mind that in Australia, players pay no taxes on jackpot games, and only the gambling establishments are obliged to do so. That means all casino and sportsbook businesses are the targets for current fees, not the player. So if you happen to win in cash when playing at a casino, then Australian gambling laws dictate that the income received through good luck is totally tax-free. This law also applies to online winnings across all regional regulators in the country.
The regulator also handles auditing and licensing at all local level casinos and other betting venues. This includes the sportsbooks and racetracks. But when it comes to online gambling laws, then an interesting situation arises. That’s because many of these laws make online gambling platforms illegal. You can thank the Interactive Act of 2001 for this strange situation. So all Australian facing casinos will have licences from other jurisdictions, like the UK or Malta, as there are no Australian gambling licences. This is true of King Billy Casino which is extremely popular down under.
Interactive Act 2001 – New Online Gambling Laws in Australia
Back in the early days of the internet, Australia was quick to ban all online gambling activities. This was done in order to protect citizens from potentially being scammed by illegal offshore casinos. This meant that the stringent Interactive Act of 2001 allowed the prohibition of all online gambling, as well as the advertising of internet gambling. But as times have moved forward, this law has become redundant, though it still remains in place. The problem stems from the fact that this law is a Federal one, giving the government control over gambling laws in general throughout Australia. But as previously mentioned, all gambling management and audits are in the hands of a local state regulator. These are not under the regulation of Federal law.
Yes, it does sound all rather confusing. But the bottom line is that Australian gambling laws still prohibited online casinos. Nevertheless, there are still some forms of gambling that are available and considered legal by the government if you’re wondering how to win the jackpot. These are:
- Land-Based Casinos
- Lotteries – Traditional & Online
- Sports Betting & Wagering – Traditional & Online
- Electronic Gaming Machines – Slots & Pokies
Obviously, with this being the age of the internet, and in particular of mobile gambling, then you can imagine Australians are still able to take advantage of online casinos from around the world. There are many casinos that are happy to take customers from Australia. You’ll find that in many cases Australians are gambling using a VPN to hide their country of origin.
A Brief History of Australian Gambling Laws
Probably the most significant year in the history of Australian gambling was in 1810. The very first horse race track opened in Hyde Park, Sydney. Today the track in Sydney, along with other famous horse racing tracks in Japan, the UK, USA and UAE, all hold some of the biggest and most lucrative horse races in the world. From the humble beginnings of a single race track, betting was to flourish with the influx of a massive wave of Chinese immigrants. They bought not only new games but also a huge appetite for all gambling activities.
Around 30 years later, in 1840, the very first Australian lottery came into being. This was already a big noise in the United Kingdom. As you can imagine, it gained popularity in the antipodes very quickly. Fast forward a few years to 1903 and the very first Australian hockey field was built. This quickly became one of the most popular sports for wagering. With technology moving forward in leaps and bounds, then at the end of the 19th century, we saw a new type of sport make its appearance in the Australian marketplace; motorsport. In 1921 the very first official motorsport race was held in Australia. With so many types of gambling becoming available, it was no surprise that there was a need for new Australian gambling laws.
The Rise Of Pokies
In Australia, “pokies” are the slang name for slot machines. Though they were invented towards the end of the 19th century, they instantly gained considerable popularity to such an extent that regulation became necessary during the 1950s. To this end, all slot machines were regulated by the Individual States Act in 1956. Australia had to wait until 1973 until the first land-based casino opened. This was the Wrest Point Hotel Casino and it’s in Tasmania. It’s still open today and you can visit and play any number of table games or jackpot slots. But from the moment the first land-based casino opened, gambling became a mainstream hobby for many Australians.
Throughout the 1990s, it was becoming more evident that Australians really like to gamble. Big-name gamblers like Kerry Packer helped put Australians on the international gambling circuit. Towards the end of this decade, the first online casinos started to appear. As we previously mentioned, with over 80% of all Australians enjoying a flutter, the government was becoming slightly concerned about the overall impact that gambling might have on the population in general.
A Law That’s Passed Its Shelf Life
So many of these recent Australian gambling laws are giving the impression that they are for protecting gamblers from illegal offshore casinos. The reality was that the law was protecting gamblers from themselves. As a result, the Interactive Act of 2001 introduced a ban on all online gambling. Although you couldn’t gamble over the internet, you were still able to go to brick-and-mortar casinos which were open to all players. Today this law is about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike. Yet because players are able to access international online casinos like our favourite, King Billy Casino, to win the jackpot online, without any fear of legal consequence, then there’s probably no big rush to repeal this archaic and redundant law.
