ACMA blocks fresh batch of illegal offshore gambling and affiliate marketing sites
Australian Communications and Media Authority restricts new set of service providers deemed to be in breach of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), an organisation tasked with regulating the communications infrastructure, services and content available to residents in the country, has announced it has blocked a further wave of illegal offshore gambling and affiliate marketing sites deemed to be in breach of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
The independent Commonwealth statutory authority has since recommended that internet service providers (ISPs) restrict a number of sites that were previously available to Australian citizens, including Casino Moons, Winnerama, Extra Vegas, Win Paradise, Gamblers Lab and the ironically named LegalGamblingSites.com following a thorough investigation of their services.
Website blocking is just one of the options utilised by ACMA to protect Australians against illegal online gambling. Since the organisation made its first blocking request in November 2019, 568 illegal gambling and affiliate websites have already been banned in the country, with over 170 others pulling out of the market following changes to the offshore gambling regulations in 2017.
ACMA has since reminded customers that even if an offshore website looks legitimate, it’s unlikely to have the necessary customer protections required to operate in the country. This means Australians who use illegal offshore gambling services face the risk of losing their money unless they check the ACMA register to ensure their selected wagering service is licensed to operate.
In addition to its capacity as regulator and enforcer of Australian online gambling laws, the ACMA website also offers useful information about online gambling to customers in the country. This includes advice about how they can protect themselves from illegal gambling operators as well as instructions on how they can file a complaint if they suspect a website is operating illegally.
All action taken by ACMA is decided by an authority panel made up of a chair, deputy chair, three full-time members and three associate members. The authority’s current chair is Ms Nerida O’Loughlin, who has served with the organisation since 2017 and has also been a part-time associate member of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) since April 2019.