ACMA adds 5 more sites to ISP ban list

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has continued to issue prohibitions against unauthorized gambling websites that target local consumers without permits to provide gambling products.

The list, launched several years back, already includes the names of hundreds of operators – with hundreds of others agreeing to leave the market out of their free will. In fact, 835 illegal gambling sites, affiliates, and even game developers have been blocked via Internet Service Providers (ISPs) already in the Down Under.

Seeing this, 215 respected brands have decided to withdraw their offers willingly. The five websites to have stayed behind in the most recent enforcement action – which have now been blocked – are Viperspin, JustCasino, Betandplay, Play Fina, and Comic Play Casino.

All of the five domains and operations were found in breach of existing Australian laws and targeted local consumers with interactive gambling services that they were not authorized to offer. The offenses include online casino, slot, and in-play betting products, which are not permitted under existing laws.

Therefore, these operators were found to be providing Australian customers with unlicensed and unregulated interactive gambling, and also used advertisement to strengthen their customer acquisition push in the country.

ACMA has been working to restrict access to such pernicious websites to its customers as it has also been trying to raise public awareness about illegitimate services, such as the ones to get caught in the latest block.

Some of the websites that had been blocked previously had tried to argue that the block was unjustified, but they too were offering online casino games which are prohibited under the country’s Interactive Gambling Act which specifically names them as illegal.

In the meantime, the country as a whole, has been driving stronger pushes towards making gambling more responsible. Online casinos are still not licensed in Australia at all, and the prospects of this happening are not very strong in the immediate future.

ACMA has been working hard to restrict these websites as well, with the regulator taking action against 12 illegal operators in June.

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