ACMA adds to blocking list with two new gambling sites

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has been persistent and relentless in its targeting of illegal gambling websites. The latest case involves BetUS and Wild Blaster, two brands that the company argues have breached the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 by providing gambling products to Australians without the appropriate licenses.

As a result, ACMA has requested the strictest penalty it issues in such cases, the ISP blocking of the two properties. Website blocking is a measure that was introduced in 2017 and at was first thought of as inefficient, lethargic, and costly. Over the past six years, however, ACMA has been able to add hundreds of affiliate and gambling websites to the experimental blacklist with a significant degree of success.

The regulator began enacting the blocks only in 2019, but it has already blocked more than 863 offending parties, including software providers. Many brands, some 220-odd international gambling operators, had left out of their own volition as ACMA said that it would alert their respective regulators in legal markets where the companies held a significant portion of their business.

This threat apparently worked as all the big brands pulled out, but scores of others remained behind. ACMA argues that websites that provide prohibited interactive gambling services to customers in Australia, offer interactive gambling or publish ads for prohibited gambling services are all on the hook for an ISP block.

ACMA has been blocking websites with unshakable determination, going through dozens of brands at a time to determine and establish who the wrongdoers are. The regulator has had to go carefully and ensure that the brands it issues a prohibition against are indeed in breach of local laws. Overall, ACMA has been successful with new bans announced every month. The regulator is far from clearing up the offshore gambling industry, but it has put a significant dent.

This comes at a time when Australia is determined to help locals avoid gambling-related harm. The country has introduced the BetStop national self-exclusion program along with a ban on credit cards which is designed to prevent consumers from over-spending and get help when they need it.

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