ACMA issues 12 blocking orders over illegal gambling sites
Tsars, Zen Casino, Zen Betting, Cleopatra Casino, Goodman Casino, Zoome Casino, Yabby Casino, Neon54, Rabona, 5Gringos, AlfCasino and 1RED were all deemed to be operating in the country illegally.
Each brand was ruled to have breached the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 by not having the relevant licences and approvals. As such, ACMA requested Australian internet service providers to block access to all the sites.
The blocking orders mean 785 illegal gambling and affiliate websites have been blocked since ACMA made its first blocking request in November 2019.
In addition, more than 200 illegal services have pulled out of Australia since ACMA began enforcing new illegal offshore gambling rules in 2017.
Blockings and warnings
The latest series of blocking requests come after ACMA last month also ordered the blocking of Vave, Highway Casino and Online Casinos Australia.
The three sites were also found in breach of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
Also last month, ACMA issued a formal warning to Feral Holdings Limited after ruling the operator had been running its CS:GO Roll website in Australia illegally.
ACMA found CS:GO Roll was providing casino-style online games, which are illegal under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 if games are played for money or anything else of value.
Players could deposit “skins” from video game Counter Strike: Global Offensive in exchange for in-game coins that could be used to gamble on casino-style games. Winnings were paid out in skins, which could be converted into real money using third-party platforms.
Feral Holdings’ CS:GO Roll website was withdrawn from Australia shortly after receiving the warning.