Australia considers ISP blocking for unlicensed sites
Could follow Serbia and Belgium as it reviews Interactive Gambling Act.
Australian internet service providers (ISPs) could be required to block players from unlicensed online gambling sites if new recommendations from the country’s Department of Broadband come into force.
According to newspaper The Australian, the recommendations “ issued by the department as part of an interim report on its review of Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act (IGA) “ could result in ISPs being forced to redirect users to a warning page when they attempt to access the offending sites. However, the report also suggests that the planned implementation of such measures would be met with opposition without legislation explicitly forbidding play on such sites.
“This approach places ISPs in a position where they would be enforcing prohibitions on gambling with overseas providers where there is no law that currently prevents Australian citizens from gambling on these sites,” it explains.
Last week reports emerged that the IGA review could bring about the regulation of online poker and/or in-play betting, the former as part of a five-year trial.
The Belgian egaming market, which began issuing licences in February, has already encouraged ISPs to end their professional relationships with sites named on its blacklist, while sites such as bwin and 888 are among those affected by an ISP banning order in Serbia.
Earlier this year the Norwegian culture minister Anniken Huitfeldt suggested that her country could also be set to introduce ISP-blocking against unlicensed offshore egaming sites.