Industry lobby group Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) has called for the establishment of a gambling blacklist granted the power to order social media platforms to remove advertising and marketing by illegal offshore operators.
RWA’s CEO, Kai Cantwell, told local news outlet The Australian that existing laws empowering the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to direct internet service providers to block unlawful gambling URLs did little to prevent illegal sites from targeting Australians – even though it had blocked more than 1,500 illegal sites in recent years.
“Illegal offshore providers are using sophisticated technology to target Australians and they’re doing it faster than the government can block them,” said Cantwell, noting that 36% of Australia’s sports betting market was offshore – negatively impacting licensed operators likes Sportsbet, Tabcorp and Ladbrokes.
A blacklist would, he added, require social media platforms to remove all marketing materials and accounts linked to illegal operators – similar to the powers held by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner around the removal of other illicit content. It would also require banks and payment platforms to block payments to offshore betting platforms.
Ironically, while RWA wants the marketing of illegal sites blocked, discussion in Australia has in recent years focused on whether to ban all gambling advertising completely – including those of licensed operators. A complete ban was one of 31 recommendation that formed part of a parliamentary report titled “You win some, you lose more” released in 2023.
Inside Asian Gaming’s Managing Editor Ben Blaschke will be joining Cantwell alongside other important industry voices on a panel session at next month’s Regulating the Game conference in Sydney to discuss in depth the issue of offshore gaming.
The panel, titled Black Market Gambling: Drivers, Dynamics and Policy Challenges, will also feature Michael Phelan APM, Strategic Advisor at Kroll and former CEO of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission; Carolyn Lidgerwood, Authority Member at ACMA; David Foster, Group Director of International Regulatory Affair at Entain; and Armina Antoniou, Chief Risk Officer at Crown Resorts.
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