As a part of its efforts to protect Australian players against illegal online gambling, The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) keeps pushing internet service providers (ISPs) to continue blocking illegal offshore gambling companies. Operators found in breach of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 are Wild Blaster and BetUS, two crypto-friendly platforms packed with an abundance of games.

Being an authority dedicated to keeping the local iGaming industry safe and well-organized, ACMA offers tons of handy bits of advice on how to protect from unlicensed gambling operators or file a complaint about an illegal site. Its website also contains the register of licensed wagering services, as well as the up-to-date list of gambling platforms that have already been blocked.

More Operators Bid Farewell to the AU iGaming Market

Found in breach of the Act, Wild Blaster and BetUS Casinos also ended up among the blocked platforms. Players from Australia will no longer be able to access either of these two sites, as they don’t run the business in accordance with the local gambling laws.

Only a month earlier, ACMA ordered ISPs to block five more gambling operators, as all of them were found operating illegally in the market. The casinos in question are Viperspin, Just Casino, Betandplay, Play Fina, and Comic Play Casino.

As a small reminder, the Authority made its first blocking in November 2019. To date, 863 illegal gambling and affiliate sites have been added to the fast-expanding list, making it impossible for those companies to offer their products and services to local clientele.

Having started to enforce new illegal offshore gambling rules in 2017, ACMA has so far requested 218 illegal services to withdraw from the AU market.

Continuous Battle Against Illegal Offshore Casinos

Website blocking is just one of the measures the Authority enforces to protect consumers from gambling on unlicensed platforms.

Most commonly, a gambling site can be blocked if it provides prohibited interactive services (online casinos, online slot games, in-play online sports betting, and similar). In addition to this, ISPs may cease one casino’s operation if it doesn’t hold a local license or in case of targeting Australian players via ads.

In November 2019, the AU government presented the idea for a nationwide self-exclusion register, aiming to minimize the harm caused by irresponsible gambling. As far as the official explained, the process is voluntary, and it allows individuals to halt online gambling activities for at least three months.

Also, in August this year, Australia launched a program called BetStop. The new self-exclusion register also allows consumers to take better control of their gambling habits and learn to make wiser decisions. Within just a single step, players can exclude themselves from all AU-licensed online and mobile wagering sites for a limited period of at least three months or permanently.

Another measure introduced is the idea to ban credit cards for gambling online. This topic has been discussed for a couple of years now but was never passed into law. As soon as it becomes effective, both operators and consumers will have six months to adjust, after which financial penalties will be imposed on those who fail to follow the ban.

Source: “More websites blocked to protect Australians against illegal online gambling”, acma.gov.au, October 25, 2023.

The post ACMA Requests 2 More Offshore Gambling Sites to Be Blocked appeared first on Keno Wizard.

Acquisition target PointsBet sent a letter to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) this morning to request a trading halt of its stock due to a material announcement.

Disclosure Obligations

PointsBet requested the immediate implementation of a trading halt on its securities listed on the ASX to allow it to manage its continuous disclosure obligations in relation to a material transaction as per ASX Listing Rule 17.1.

The Australian-based sports betting operator is at the center of an acquisition tussle between the sports commercial giant with a huge appetite in the sports betting space, Fanatics, and the second-largest in terms of sports wagering market share in the US, DraftKings.

Last month, Fanatics thought they had wrapped up a $150 million deal to acquire the US assets of PointsBet as both sides agreed to the deal under the terms of which Fanatics would pay $100 million upon transaction close and the rest in February 2024. The nascent sportsbook went live in its second US state, Maryland, in early June.

On June 16, Boston-based sports betting and gaming operator DraftKings tabled a 30% higher bid, $195 million, for PointsBet USA and derailed the agreement between PointsBet and Fanatics. A recent media report also suggested that personal motives dating back to a failed merger deal in 2021 may exist behind the risky bid.

Upon receiving the proposal from DraftKings, PointsBet said its previous agreement with Fanatics was inferior and began looking into the new bid. There is one stumbling block in the proposal as it is subject to DraftKings obtaining regulatory approvals while PointsBet insists on a “hell or high water deal” deal.

Trading Halt for One Day

In its letter to the ASX, PointsBet requested that the trading halt remains in place until the company makes its announcement to the market but no later than the commencement of normal trading on June 28, 2023, meaning that trading with PointsBet stock should be suspended for no more than a trading day.

PointsBet concluded its letter by stating that the company “is not aware of any reason why the trading halt request should not be granted, nor of any other information necessary to inform the market about the trading halt.”

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