The nations communications watchdog will soon block access to illegal gambling websites hosted offshore.<\/p>\n
Australians spend up to $400m on the sites each year and often have difficulties recouping their winnings or deposits.<\/p>\n
The Australian Communications and Media Authority will investigate suspect sites and, if unable to take enforcement action, order internet providers to block them.<\/p>\n
The chair of Acma, Nerida OLoughlin, said the new laws were a valuable additional weapon against illegal online gambling.<\/p>\n
There is little to no recourse for consumers engaging with these unscrupulous operators, OLoughlin said on Monday.<\/p>\n
She said 65 illegal companies had left Australia since Acma began enforcing new rules against offshore sites in 2017.<\/p>\n
The communications minister, Paul Fletcher, said the sites accounted for about $100m in lost tax revenue each year.<\/p>\n
Too often these offshore operators are defrauding Australians and their websites typically provide very few, if any, harm-minimisation controls, Fletcher said.<\/p>\n
Acmas new powers fulfil one of three legislative recommendations that came out of a 2015 review of interactive gambling.<\/p>\n
The review, overseen by former NSW premier Barry OFarrell, made 19 recommendations to the government.<\/p>\n
It raised a number of problems with the sites, including a lack of Australian consumer protections, as well as links with organised crime.<\/p>\n
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Australia to block illegal offshore gambling websites - The Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The nations communications watchdog will soon block access to illegal gambling websites hosted offshore. Continue reading