New laws could trigger a drop in unlicensed iGaming in Australia

The Australian legislators have made some reforms to the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA) recently and the reforms are likely to trigger a drop in unlicensed iGaming in the country. According to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the unlicensed activity could come down by even 50% this year.

An ACMA revenue could also drop down to €126 million from €285 million last year. The reforms strengthened the authority’s power to act against unlicensed offshore operators. The new laws also contain provision for slapping €5 million penalties per day to offenders

“Over the past year, we’ve moved decisively to disrupt the provision of illegal offshore gambling to Australians,” – said ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin . “We’ve made it clear that Australia’s laws are unambiguous. If you provide prohibited or unlicensed gambling services to customers in Australia, you are breaching Australian law and we will take enforcement action,” she concluded.

The ACMA also set up an Interactive Gambling Taskforce, which is determined to educate, engage and enforce action to break down unauthorised gambling operations.