Australia & Online Poker

For those of you who are interested in the legislation of online poker around the world:

Australia recently decided, amongst other things, it was going to fine websites who link to sites on their new internet "blacklist" up to $11,000/day, as well as filter out poker site URLs at an ISP level.

Read more about the nonsense: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/032309-banned-poker-sites-make-joker.html

Australians beware, you may well have a more crazy government than the USA

(As an update to that story the 3rd biggest ISP in Australia has pulled out of this "trial", hopefully others will follow so online poker in Australia will stay easily available and legal to all)

That is unreal!!! I don't get what the big deal is?? Let the people play online poker!!! If it's tax money you want, have the site track how much you take out in profit and tax that!!! I have no problem paying taxes on my winnings, and I really believe this is all governments are worried about. Good article Nick, hate to hear that has happened, but glad it's not in the US, yet!

wow, worse than the usa,lol, doubt it,, i applaud the 3rd. largest IPS for dropping out of it,, good for them, looks like nowhwer is safe to play these days,, buck

yeah i read about this earlier

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/03/19/1237054961100.html

But about half of the sites on the list are not related to child porn and include a slew of online poker sites, YouTube links, regular gay and straight porn sites, Wikipedia entries, euthanasia sites, websites of fringe religions such as satanic sites, fetish sites, Christian sites, the website of a tour operator and even a Queensland dentist.

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...lol go australia!

anyone know what the laws are in canada? i have searched and get a bunch of different answers?!

*facepalm*

Depressing, innit.

It's been theoretically illegal for poker sites to provide their services to us for years, I don't believe it's ever been enforced though because nobody that runs one lives in a jurisdiction that cares, and there's nothing in the legislation (yes, I actually tracked it down and read it) that says anything about the players.

Of course there are exemptions in the legislation - internet sports betting is legal and has a special exemption written in, for example, because they've obviously got enough lobbying power. The legislation is supposed to curb problem gambling, but I'd put money (d'yaseewhatIdidthere?) on there being a lot more problem sports bettors than any other kind in this country. It's just so much part of our culture.

The other stupid thing about this is that they're banning internet sites - like, say, Full Tilt's site. Thing is, I don't access Full Tilt through their website. Since I downloaded their software years ago, their website only performs ancilliary functions like telling me the pathetic amount of FPPs I've accumulated or who's winning the Durrrr challenge.

The same goes for lots of other things too, I imagine - just banning internet sites won't stop things like peer-to-peer transfers.

I'm all for getting rid of child porn and punishing those responsible for creating and distributing it. It makes me sick. But we must've come up with the stupidest, most inneffective and most easily abused way of doing it.

WTG Australia

Didn't see this earlier, it is because of that, that I cannot play at Carbon or Refer Poker, when I signed up there they said that I could not play due to Australian Legislation.
What a load of crap.

That sucks, my girlfriend lives in Australia so when I am there certain sites are a no go. Amazing considering what Hachem winning the wsop and Aussie Millions has done for the boom in Australian poker I would have thought its a good thing. Saying that I know the pokies (poker machines) can be a problem there but thats not even related to this.

I despair of this planets occupants many times a day

lol this is retarded. Are the actually blocking the connection to the poker site, or is it a filter that blocks the gambling websites without preventing use of the client? I'm planning on going to school in Aus so i was just wondering...(hopefully be sick of poker by then anyways). Anybody know what the legislation in NZ is atm?

feitr said:

lol this is retarded. Are the actually blocking the connection to the poker site, or is it a filter that blocks the gambling websites without preventing use of the client? I'm planning on going to school in Aus so i was just wondering...(hopefully be sick of poker by then anyways). Anybody know what the legislation in NZ is atm?

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If it actually goes ahead, I gather it'll block the website without preventing you from using the client.

So for example, I'd be able to play on Full Tilt like normal, but if I wanted to check my Ironman status (LOL @ that ever being an issue for me anyway) or something else that actually involves looking at their website, I'd be blocked from accessing it.

My ISP is one of the ones that's refused to take part in the trial though, for which I'm thankful.

As for Carbon etc. not allowing Australians, dunno what's up there. Technically it's been illegal for any poker site to provide their services to Australians for years - maybe they're based in an extradition country?

damn that sucks,,,stupid country always going backwards and controlling peoples lives

when is this happening?

I got cash in PS I guesss I should withdraw it.

Its not fair

I had no idea Australia was this conservative. Its ridiculous.

You will find a way around all of the regulations just like the US did. Good luck.

Ernster86 said:

damn that sucks,,,stupid country always going backwards and controlling peoples lives

when is this happening?

I got cash in PS I guesss I should withdraw it.

Its not fair

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Read above - I wouldn't be in any rush to withdraw just yet and at least to begin with it'd just block Stars' website, not the software you use to play and deposit / withdraw.

It's still in the testing phase at the moment and I've got NFI if it's actually been put through parliament yet. Who knows, maybe we'll get a double-dissolution on the alcopops issue and then we'll get a chance to vote Stephen Fielding the hell out of the Senate.

That's what I really hate about this: if it goes ahead, it'll be because one drooling f&*ktard like him holds the swing vote on the issue.

Oh - the voluntary filter the Liberal government released just before they got voted out got hax0red in less than a day. By a 16 year old kid, IIRC. So there'll be work arounds .

I don't understand this anymore...
Why is gambling in a casino is legal but online gambling isn't?
I live in Israel, every pokersite that is blocked to U.S players are blocked to Israelies as well. But here i can undersand it... casinos are illegal here anyway. Credit Cards companies here just refuse to deposit funds to poker sites, but that's it... all other options should be open.
For example: If the site is located outside U.S.A, let's say Malta, why is gambling illegal? Shouldn't it be legal by the Malta's laws?
I think it's just stupid

Good question.

The "official" answer is probably that they're harder to regulate. Australia has brick and mortar casinos, but very few of them - there's only one in each capital city, AFAIK (it's definitely true for Melbourne and Sydney).

Could be it's a cultural thing too though.

Pokies (slot machines) and sports betting are much more common. You can place a sports bet in pretty much any pub in the country, and nobody really minds. Loads of places outside of casinos have pokies too. That issue gets a lot more attention, because pokies are obviously evil little -EV money-suckers.

Maybe that's why there's some special exemptions in our internet gambling legislation. You're allowed to offer online sports betting services to Australians and run such a site in Australia. Because we love sports betting, it's awesome. It's practically un-Australian not to have a punt on the Melbourne Cup.

But you can't offer other forms of internet gambling, because apparently they're evil and dangerous.

I'd be seriously interested to see what would happen if one of our established B&M casinos went to the government and said "We want to set up an online casino - you can regulate it, and we'll pay you our taxes on it", because it's obviously what the established sports betting industry has done.

This does not affect me but I feel for the players in the USA and now Austrailia who are having to deal with these issues. What is the problem? Is it tax or is there some other hidden agenda?

Tom1559 said:

This does not affect me but I feel for the players in the USA and now Austrailia who are having to deal with these issues. What is the problem? Is it tax or is there some other hidden agenda?

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Misguided conservatism for the most part, I think - they feel the need to save us all from our degenerate gambling sevles.

If it was just a tax thing, they'd legalise and regulate it.

LOL who knows what their problem is.If they're trying to save us from the evils of gambling....why do they still allow pokie machines which are rigged.

If I ran the government I would have as little rules as possible, let people make their own choices....I wish we still had that freedom like we did even 10 or so years ago.

Now everything is sue sue sue, politically correct BS everywhere...

/rant.

Ernster86 said:

LOL who knows what their problem is.If they're trying to save us from the evils of gambling....why do they still allow pokie machines which are rigged.

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*Devil's advocate mode ON*

Because pokie machines are provided in a live and controlled environment. There are guarantees that someone will come around and tap the punter on the shoulder every few hours to ask them "Sir/madam, do you think you've gambled enough?" and then wander off, regardless of the answer. Plus they can cap the amount you're allowed to withdraw from ATMs in a pokies venue and ensure that only over-18s (or under-18s with good fake IDs) are allowed entry.

It's exploitable as hell, but for some reason it makes people feel a little bit better than the just-tap-it-to-my-vein online gambling experience.