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Australia not backing gambling laws

Posted on July 16th, 2010

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The Australian government is standing firm, and will not support any gambling law. This is despite the positive recommendation and result made by the Productivity Commission Report on Gambling. Online bingo operators and players may have been hoping for the Australian Government to remove the 2001 ban on gambling, but the government has no plans in doing so. The country is also looking on other nations like the United States on how to combat illegal oversees gambling. Australia is reportedly the country with the highest gambling rate in the world; many experts even relate this to alcohol abuse as well.

Australian bars that carry slot machines are said to be the culprit of the situation. An estimated 160,000 Australians are said to have gambling related problems. However, many still belieev that the economic benefits such as the tax and player protection benefits will definitely outweigh the social costs of gambling in the country.

The 2010 Productivity Commission Report on Gambling released by the government is intended for the review of states, territories, communities and other industries, and is said to support reforms to minimize the social harms that problem gambing may cause the Australian public. But it also recommends that the government must work with state and local governments to amend the Gambling Act of 2001 to create provisions and to liberalize online gaming, specifically online poker games. The commission said that online poker, and other forms of gambling exempted from the Interactive Gambling Act, should also be subject to legislation to ensure minimal harm caused by problem gaming. Suggested requirements include the inclusion of links for support groups centered on problem gaming, information on problem gaming, warnings of harmful or addictive patterns of gambling, and limits on expenditures or how much a player can spend on the game.

The commission also suggested close supervision from the government and installation of overseeing bodies. Measures are also recommended to evaluate if the current system on the provisions of online poker card games are still effective and must still be permitted, and whether the same provisions be applied to other forms of online gaming. The said recommendations may have been the same approach taken by the French government; it seems that the Australian Government may not be able to enforce the zero tolerance strategy it has planned after all. Nick Sherry, Assistant Treasurer of the Australian government says that it does not agree with the commission’s suggestions. Current provisions regarding online gaming will still apply. The government is not convinced that liberalization of online gambling in Australia will benefit the people much that it will outweigh the risks involved in problem gambing.

Stephen Conroy, Communications Minister said that the government believed that whatever benefit online gambling may contribute to the country, the rise of problem gaming will become a problem if not properly addressed. In fact, suggestions were made that more than just adhering to set rules, the Australian government is to tighten its laws and a review must be made of these laws. A research is to be made focusing on other countries like the United States, on how they deal and cope with the problems that arise with problem gaming and how these can be reduced. The law made on the 2001 Interactive Gambling Act currently bans all online casino, bingo and poker games, but what Australians are doing is to go to offshore sites to play instead. Australian ministers are now studying how the United States is able to carry out the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which does not allow players from United States to visit oversees sites because of fear of penalties.

Australia’s Gambling policy has historically been the responsibility of the States rather than the Commonwealth. State and territory governments regulate and provide gambling services to the Australian public for the revenue benefits gambling gives to the country. In more recent developments however, the Commonwealth has began taking more active roles in this area. The public’s concern on the effects of gambling on the Australian society made way for the Commonwealth to make an inquiry with the Productivity Commission and the conclusions gathered have been a subject of heated debates.

In addition, as new technologies emerge, the adoption of new communications technologies by gambling industries has made a significant impact on the Commonwealth’s interest, as this is an area which falls within its responsibilities. The development of online gambling has significant implications for regulatory mechanisms, revenue collection and community welfare. This has made the Federal Parliament to pass legislation prohibiting Australian Internet gambling sites from providing services to Australians.