Australian regulator reports breaches of new gambling laws

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has uncovered 19 breaches of the country’s new online gambling law.

Last year, the Australian government approved an amendment to the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, banning all remote operators from offering various services, such as in-play sports wagering, credit betting and online casino and poker.

However, in a report cited by CalvinAyre.com, the ACMA said in a three-month period that began on September 13, it received a total of 108 enquiries and complaints related to suspected breaches of the new law.

Following up on these reports, the ACMA found 38 to be valid and in turn opted to launch 18 separate investigations into the matters.

The ACMA said that 10 of these probes identified 19 breaches of the law, nine of which were related to offering a banned interactive gambling service, eight for offering unlicensed regulated interactive gambling services, and two that were related to advertising banned offerings.

Although the ACMA did not reveal the identity of the companies involved in the investigations, it did state that a total of 65 distinct URLs were studied during the probes.

The regulator added that it has “successfully engaged” with those that breached the law.

Related article: Australia faces regulatory overhaul as Senate passes bill