ACMA Blocks Crown Pokies and Play AUD

On Aug. 23, 2023, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced that it had blocked another few online gaming websites for offering supposedly illegal gambling services to Australian citizens.

Australian Gambling Is Regulated by the ACMA

Gambling in Australia is regulated and controlled by the ACMA. The ACMA is primarily responsible for enforcing gambling regulations relating to the amended Interactive Gambling Act (IGA) of 2001. In 2016, this legislation was updated and amended to essentially prohibit all offshore operators from offering gambling services to Australians.

The ACMA enforces gambling laws and regulations in Australia

There are a handful of licensed sportsbook operators in Australia, but besides that, all other kinds of gambling are prohibited from being offered by unlicensed, offshore operators. Unfortunately, the way the laws are currently, it is nearly impossible for any offshore gaming operation to obtain a license to serve Australian citizens.

About the Sites Blocked

The only sites specifically mentioned by name in the most recent ACMA release are Play AUD and Crown Pokies. Both sites operate slightly differently, but they both offer online casino games, like slots, to Australian players.

Crown Pokies is a bit unique in how it operates. The website is dedicated to directing players to a specific mobile-only casino application available for iPhone and Android users. The app is called Jackpot Miner, and by downloading the Jackpot Miner app, players are able to play an assortment of pokies or slots online for real money.

Jackpot Miner is the name of the app offered by Crown Pokies

This is somewhat rare as most online gambling sites, like Play AUD, serve players through any browser on a computer, tablet, or smartphone. The Jackpot Miner app is specifically crafted to allow players to download an app and play for real money from their phone in a bit of a hidden manner. The app resembles many free-to-play slot applications.

New Sites Join an Extensive Blacklist

As a result of the ACMA's most recent blocking enforcement, there are now 823 illegal gambling and affiliate websites on the growing blacklist of blocked sites. In reality, this figure is a bit overinflated because many of the sites have had more than one URL blocked after creating new URLs to circumvent the bans.

Since the ACMA started its crackdown and began strongly enforcing the laws and regulations, more than 210 supposedly illegal gambling services have withdrawn from Australia and stopped serving Australian consumers.

Unfortunately, we can't help but wonder if all of this enforcement is causing more harm than it is good. Blocking sites without end seemingly confuses Australian citizens and can potentially divert players from trusted gambling websites towards shadier, inferior gambling sites.

The ACMA Continues Enforcement

As we have discussed, there are hundreds of sites on the ACMA's blacklist of blocked sites including the five sites blocked last month. The agency has been on quite a tear recently as it also blocked a number of sites back in June.

The ACMA has been quite consistent this calendar year as the agency blocked Pokie Surf and a few other sites back in February as well as blocking additional gambling sites and an affiliate site back in March.

Unfortunately for Australians, this is nothing new. The ACMA has been blocking sites dating back to November 2019, and it doesn't appear as though it will stop anytime soon. The success of these efforts is questionable as customers can easily bypass these issues by changing DNS settings, and the sites can simply create new URLs over and over.

Online Casino Gaming and Poker Still Present in Australia

Fortunately, despite the ACMA's candid efforts against online gambling, there are still plenty of trustworthy online poker and gambling sites that cater to Australians. It may be slightly more difficult to locate these operators nowadays, but rest assured, numerous safe options still exist for both online casino gaming and poker.

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For players who may prefer playing online poker as opposed to online slots and casino games, please feel free to check out this comprehensive guide regarding the best online poker sites catering to Australians.