Online Gambling in Australia - A Perfect Example for Legal Grey Zones Online

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Australia is a country with a bit of a gaming controversy. On one hand, no local company or individual is allowed to offer interactive gambling services to locals, as per the IGA passed in 2001. On the other hand, over 80% of all Australians have gambled online at least once a year. They either bet on sports, or try the best Aussie online casino pokies, or even engage in table games – many of them daily. And all this at operators that stay out of the Australian government’s reach, in a legal “gray zone”.

Online casinos are popular in Australia

Despite the country having no online casinos – these are banned by law -, locals have no legal restriction on playing at offshore operators. Which makes gaming destinations like the Royal Vegas Casino an attractive target for local players. And they don’t need to use proxies or even the dark web to play there. As the country implements the IGA in a relatively loose way, locals are free to navigate to the websites they wish, make deposits using their local currency, and play whichever games they like.

And the Royal Vegas Casino is even more attractive for locals – as many players from other countries as well – because it is among the best-rated operators out there. During its history of over a decade, the Royal Vegas Casino has built its reputation as a trustworthy, fair place to play, with many benefits for those willing to take their gaming to them. And it still works to offer more: new games are added to the Royal Vegas Casino library each month, and it also keeps expanding to new platforms, like virtual reality and smartwatches.

Licensed Australian gambling destinations

Some of the major players on the international gambling market have “invaded” the Australian market, offering their local players a local brand to seek for. Among them, you can find some of the largest gambling companies, like Bet365, William Hill, or the eternal master of mischief, Paddy Power. These have either expanded to Australia by launching their own branded operations there or – like in the case of Paddy Power – through acquiring and assimilating an existing local operator.

But the same IGA that prevents casinos from setting foot on Australian soil heavily restricts the services these operators can offer. The local law currently only allows pre-game sports bets to be placed, with no further services (not even in-play betting) permitted. No in-play, which is very popular among players in other countries, because – as per the IGA – that counts as “interactive” gambling.

The Aussie government has reviewed the IGA in 2013, and recommendations have been made for the regulation of interactive online casino games. But this is a long process which can take years. Until then the gray zone it is for Aussie players.