The Australian Online Poker Alliance (AOPA) is ramping up its campaign to save Australia’s online poker industry by encouraging players and supporters to send submissions to the Environment and Communications References Committee ahead of an upcoming Senate inquiry.
Online poker, which is not regulated down under but has previously operated in a regulatory grey area, is set to become strictly prohibited in the coming months under the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016.
The Bill, aimed primarily at illegal offshore sports betting and casino operators, effectively covers all unregulated gaming sites.
However, online poker was handed a possible reprieve in June when a motion to establish an inquiry into online poker in Australia was approved.
As a result, the Senate referred a series of matters to the Environment and Communications References Committee for inquiry and report by 14 September 2017, namely:
– The participation of Australians in online poker
– The nature and extent of any personal or social harms and benefits arising from participating in online poker
– Whether the current regulatory approach, in particular, the recently amended Interactive Gambling Act 2001, is a reasonable and proportionate response to those harms and benefits.
With the 21 July deadline for submissions approaching, the AOPA told Inside Asian Gaming it was vital that Australia’s poker community made their voices heard.
“The Australian online poker community is a vibrant and diverse group of people,” said AOPA spokesman Joseph Del Duca. “It is important that we get as many members of our community to make their voices heard so the government understands how important our hobby is to us.
“We’re fast running out of time to save online poker in Australia.”
Submissions are open on the Parliament of Australia website.
The Senate motion was put forward by Senators David Leyonhjelm of the Liberal Democratic Party and Cory Bernardi of the Australian Conservatives.
“It (online poker) is now prohibited,” Senator Leyonhjelm said at the time. “The stupid government has made it virtually impossible to play poker online. As a result, thousands of Australians who play poker for fun can’t play it online, or they won’t once the bill takes effect. It’s insane.”
